A Dark Bitter Brew
by Thom Phan
Summary: Meet the Semblance of Qi, an international forum where a small group of martial artists get together and chat about healthy eating, healthy living, best ways to train in a variety of deadly skills, and superpowers. This last question is what brings in one Coco Adel, a college student who just wanted some easy upper division credits, who instead finds herself in a new martial world.
1. Chapter 1

\- - -1- - -

September

VAV

New Mombasa, Kenya

V

"I can't believe you went all the way out there and didn't swing by me. You said you would visit ages ago."

Fox winced at the volume from the speakers, but aside from Arslan's voice the apartment was still quiet. A fact he did not feel like risking as he plugged in his earbuds. "We haven't even known each other that long. Anyways, we've been trying to get Bibi to move in with us for years. My dad doesn't want her to change her mind last second just because he couldn't make it out as soon."

His words were cut off by one of the neighbors downstairs yelling something about a dog in Swahili and punctuating whatever it was with the pop of a Kalashnikov rifle. Something he hadn't even been able to identify until coming to stay here before the move.

"I can see why."

"Most of Kenya isn't bad at all actually, especially if you hear some of my grandmother's old stories. The neighbors' downstairs are just from the Shades district. They wouldn't be a problem really if they weren't keeping her awake with all their talking and gunfire; and me for that matter."

"You know, if you came for a visit I can promise no gunshots."

"Right. I'll just drive up to Turkey, no problem especially for me, and leave the boxing for later. That will end well."

"I forgot, your grandma's place is probably packed with stuff."

"She lived here long enough, I'm still finding relics on accident."

"Oh Oum, she's not a hoarder, is she?"

"No, just the usual ends and pieces. At least she's neater than my dad. I haven't tripped over anything in days."

"I know exactly what you mean…" Her voice trailing off with an expectant pause.

"Really Arslan, after your own joke earlier? You're really going to pull the sarcasm out on me over this?" Only for another shot to cut off his words and silence them both. At this rate Bibi would never get her sleep.

VAV

Midsomer, England

V

The dorm room echoed harshly with the sound of her handbag landing on the desk, and Coco once again found herself wishing that they could have found a fourth person to share off campus housing with. Even if this was her last year at Midsomer University, dorm rooms were still shite.

"I take it the meeting with Oobleck didn't go well?"

Velvet was curled against her boyfriend, the two barely fitting on the small bed's given his size, and doing her best to hide her pained wince from the loud noise. As much as housing remained a bad part to every day, at least her roommate remained a sweetheart. "Sorry Bun-bun, wasn't thinking again. Hey Daichi."

"Greetings." The giant said, giving her polite smile before he returned to his book; Historical Accounts of the Aberrant.

"Yeah, he argued that my topic wasn't challenging enough, and how the goal of the class was to expand our historical pursuits. Not for them to 'whither on the vine of old knowledge'. His explanation made even less sense after he started doing his speed-talking thing."

"Coco, everyone knowns fashion is your hobby. It was kind of obvious your topic was just a reason to talk about stuff you already know. This is just his way of challenging you."

"I get it, really. But this paper is two semesters of work, upper-divisions credits, outside my major, and is going to be a big part of my GPA. Not a fan here of branching out too far. Especially when I have all my other classes to worry about still."

"You said topics were due by October. Still time to figure things out."

"I guess. Hey, Daichi, you're in the class. What were you planning for the paper?"

"Meditational Practices."

"Sounds good I'm sure, though not as much help as I hoped. Any ideas I could use?"

"No. Unless…" Yatushashi's face changed as he slowly placed his bookmark, clearly stuck on some piece of an idea as he flipped to an earlier chapter. Nodding his head in confirmation before he handed it over for Coco to review. "Read the first paragraph here. Velvet could you also bring up the video you showed me the other day?"

"Which one?" Twisting in his lap to better understand him, Velvet's ears brushin`g against his nose with a familiarity that was unique for them. No one else dared touched her ears these days. Not with friends like hers.

"With the, the… hat."

"Oh, right!"

"'While accounts of the past are often exaggerated in their descriptions and accounts of historical figures, some remain even from modern times that question the limitations of both humans and faunus equally'." Coco looked up from the book with a face of genuine confusion. "You've got to be shitting me. The title of the chapter is 'Super Kung-Fu'. This is supposed to be about superpowers."

"Keep reading before you judge."

"'One specific example comes from the Society of the Righteous and Harmonious Fist,…'. Who?"

"From the Boxer Rebellion."

"Right. '…whose founding and early successes were in large part due to Quánlì Rén1, a faunus monk who proved on several occasions his ability to withstand gunfire thanks to his unbreakable skin. By the end of the rebellion, he was captured alongside several companions and sentenced to execution. However, it was then that he proceeded to ruin numerous blades in their attempts to behead him, after first proving that a firing line would not work. Attempts that were captured on multiple photographs, with solar cycles proving that they were spread across many months, and even include one which blurred when the blade shard was sent flying. See Figure 1. This is only one example where evidence exists in more modern time of kung-fu mythical abilities proving to work despite the lack of science behind it.' Rubbish, Oobleck would never let me get away with this."

"Ooh, Yatsu I found it. I can see why you wanted this one. Coco, come over here. You got to see this." Patting the bed eagerly as she angled the laptop screen her way, with the smile she could never refuse.

"Fine, fine, scooch over skinny butt. You get one shot before I start looking for a real idea."

The video came from AwesomePeople and as boldly titled 'The Inexplicable'. Starting out with a close shot of a blue fedora, before the camera zoomed out to show the wearer was an athletic young man with bright silver hair and a smirk that at best could be called rapscallion. Then it turned, showing him standing at close to a 45-degree angle, while continuing to zoom out to include the I-beam he stood on. Stuck as it was a few meters away from the top of the half-built skyscraper that it was a part of, and a dangerous place as any for this Michael Jackson tribute. The video paused there for half a second, just enough for the music to build up and his wink to reach the camera.

After that the video cut away, showing one clip after another of people doing what at best could be described as impossible. Coco was sure some of them were fake, CGI, wires, or just magic tricks to show off; but some weren't that simple. Like one clip of a girl standing up out of her wheelchair, on a high-quality security camera that even showed her stoic expression, as she proceeded to stop a 4-door sedan that was close to running her over and even begin to pick it up. Another had a German General, a war-hero in by all accounts, display impossible accuracy at a firing range despite being a triple amputee. A few others were simply news article headlines, showed just long enough for highlights such as 'Paralympic Gold Medalist Wins Bar-fight'. Compared to another which was a documentary on meditation and showed one lady who could use concentration to raise her body temperature well into the fever range without any harm to her body.

None of it should have been possible, but just like the fedora guy there was always something that didn't add up to make it be anything but real. Like the close-up of his boots that made it clear the I-beam was unmarred and there was not a wire or a nail, all the usual tricks, to hold him there. Michael Jackson may have had a patent on his side, but whoever this guy was he seemed to have simply ignored gravity for the sake of stunt.

"All right. I'm listening."

VAV

New Mombasa, Kenya

V

"Hey assholes! You even listening?"

"Fox knocked on the door harder, but all he heard was the two guys on the other side keep talking, loudly, and ignore him. It was almost 2 AM and they were keeping him from getting any sleep with their talking and gunshots. Worse, they were keeping his grandmother awake. Meaning that at this point he really did not care about much else other than getting them to shut their bleeding traps.

Too lazy to try and translate whatever it was they were saying, he pulled out his scroll as he hammered on the door again. "Lisa, translate 'Be quiet or else' into Swahili." As he raised the volume and pressed it to the door.

This time the door opened. The neighbor talking quickly in his native tongue to make any translation on Fox's part impossible given his own language skills. But it was curt and hostile, with a distinctive tone of 'what do you want?' Judging by the sound, the guy was also doing his level best to intimidate him by getting up in his face. Which at an earlier hour would have been funny, now it just made him want to punch the guy.

"Lisa, translate…"

Then he was cut off by the partner calling from somewhere back in the apartment. Annoying enough without his scrolls response, "That means: 'shoot the motherfucker already' in Swahili."

The one at the door must have agreed with him, because it was followed by a metallic cocking noise from right behind the door as it creaked open.

"Fucking hell." Was all the time Fox had left as he kicked it open the rest of the way.

VAV

Midsomer, England

V

"Okay then, how do I make this work? It's a SoAn2 class. Even if I could 'prove' superpowers, that doesn't meet the topic requirements."

Velvet and Daichi shared a look of doubt, apparently neither had gotten past the initial catch for the paper. Turning it into something feasible took an extra step, which Velvet supplied hesitantly at her boyfriend's prompting. "Well you need to discuss the effects of historical recurrence3 on past and present societies, and you already have the one example from the book. All you need to do is hunt down some more people with this kind of kung-fu mystical shenanigans, and then explain the larger effect that they had on the others around them. The video is practically a grocery list for interviews for modern examples, and you know Professor Oobleck would love that. Maybe cite some sources for or against any of them actually doing this, but the point of the essay should really be on how they're perceived."

Coco reached around to ruffle Velvet's hair as she responded, "Look at that, my little physics major acting all social science-y. Daichi, I'm going to have to keep her."

"5'6" is not little, you just wear heels all the time."

"They're not that high."

"And you're an engineering student, no room to talk."

"Relax, I'm just messing with you. It sounds good, the kind of topic Oobleck would approve of. Not making things easy for me though, this was supposed to be my easy credits."

"Every experience holds within it a blessing. A student must simply search for each one." Yatsu said as he retrieved his book. "And you could use a new challenge."

VAV

New Mombasa, Kenya

V

Fox was heaving in the center of the room when the New Mobasa Police entered, drawing their weapons after a moment of shock. Not that he could blame them, the room probably liked like a mess. Gunfire did that to a place. Plus, he had broken what was probably a table when he thrown the guy onto and through it. Then here he was bruised, bleeding from a cut across his abdomen, and from experience the other two were going to look worse. Tables would do that to a person, that and the butt stroke from their Ak-47 to the temple probably looked bad, along with the mouth of whichever one he had smashed his elbow into a couple times. What could he say? It was a hell of a fight.

The cops were yelling at him to. In Swahili, of course. Which meant he had no idea what they were yelling. He could guess though. Not like it was his first time. Getting down on his knees, Fox clasped his hands behind his head and between adrenaline filled breaths reminded himself that it could be worse. The karambits were still up in Bibi's apartment, and they always looked suspicious.

Ma'am stay back

Oh, it's okay. I just need to give my grandson his cane. He could his Bibi pushing her way through the doorway and past the officers whose gear was still leveled on him. She was old enough, grown up in a different time, to make intimidation a lost cause, even as she leaned over him to inspect his bruised face. "How are you Mjukuu? Not hurt?"

"I'm fine Bibi, just tired."

You called us about someone threatening your grandson. One of the officers asked, his voice edged with concern. Apparently, the room looked as bad as Fox expected. No surprise.

Yes this is him.

…You said that your blind grandson was being attacked.

I did. He just came down here to complain about the noise so I could sleep. They must have attacked him, but he's always been such a strong boy. You should see his medals. I was so proud of him.

"Bibi, do you think I could have my cane before they arrest me?"

VAV

VAV

"English", Swahili

1: This man is in no way based on, related to, or named after Luke Cage. That would be crazy.

2: SoAn=Sociology and Anthropology

3: Historic recurrence is the repetition of similar events in history.

V

This is a multi-chapter fic, current outlined at 14-15 long. Chapters are going to vary in length according to needs of the plot, but expect them to average 2000.

This story is set around the globe, however I've traveled far less and cannot speak any other languages, so this has been compensated as best as possible. If I have dramatically insulted something culturally, tell me and I'll fix it. Likewise this starts with Fox being Blind and will include other characters that are similarly handicapped. I've done my best to research, but if I horribly screw up tell me. I would much rather it be accurate.

Already have some chapters written, so let's spar and see what happens.


	2. Chapter 2

\- - -2- - -

September

VAV

New Mombasa, Kenya

V

The glory of hindsight was often in the little details. Like right this second, he rather regretted leaving his phone in Bibi's apartment. He could use some music or an audiobook to listen to. The police would probably have taken it before putting him here in the jail cell, but the slim chance they didn't was still better than laying on the uncomfortable mattress, staring at the ceiling and hoping he'd fall asleep at some point. At this rate, he wouldn't be getting any sleep at all tonight.

Bibi had assured him that it was only until morning, which left only an hour or two before dawn when considering the time since they had arrested him and brought him to the station. That hadn't sounded so bad, but the adrenaline from the fight hadn't died down. As tired as he was, his eyes wouldn't stay shut and all he could do was replay the fight in his mind. From when he first barreled into the door to stun that arse on the other side, grabbed his gun barrel and proceeded to twist it out of his grasp with his other hand so he could catch the asshole in the temple with his own weapon. To moving across the room as quickly and violently as possibly until he had the other one in a tight clinch, knocking them around the room until he could shift their arms and throw him onto the table he had just been pushed into. He hadn't planned on the table breaking, but at that point he didn't care. Just followed the man down to the ground where Fox could punch his face over and over again, until he stopped twitching in his grasp. Then the silence of the room had told him that the fight was over and, as much as anyone could claim it, he had won. The shock changing seconds into minutes and back as he stood there in the silence until jolted by the sound of sirens.

Course that was when he had struggled to stand up and realized that he had no idea where he was even with the confines of their apartment. All he had focused on was driving through the enemy, he hadn't had time to come up with an escape route. Running away had never been an option, even before the police had drawn their pistols on him, arrested him, before bringing him here to jail for due process.

"Wake up mtoto. We're letting you out."

Fox stirred, still hazy about the cell he was in and hesitant to start moving around in unknown territory. But the speaker voice was clear, despite his strong accent, and easy to face towards. "I thought you were going to wait until morning. Last I heard none of you spoke English."

"They called me in from my own district to help. Your grandmother is good friends with the local Imam's family it seems, and was doing here best to get her little Mjukuu back home. I think she did not notice the two men you beat upon."

"I told you guys, they had a gun on me."

"Yes, we have cleared you of everything, but you must forgive our jest. This is a far more interesting night than we ever expected."

"Trust me, I wasn't planning on it either."

"Come now, your grandmother is waiting. I do not want her to cry the ears off the other officers."

"I suppose mine are a lost cause."

"The wonders of family, no?"

VAV

Midsomer, England

V

Of course, the professor had approved the crazy idea from her roommate's boyfriend. Instead of the nice, simple one she had originally came up with. It was everything he was looking for, as she was almost positive that insanity had been one of the actual requirements. The man had practically thrown Coco out of his office saying she should start her research right away. What she hadn't counted on was him being right.

Turns out that researching "superheroes of history" came up with three kinds of result. The first was an academic explanation of how things get exaggerated in history and that there were several reasons for this, but the largest was essentially a PR stunt. While the second were conspiracy theories, including several that Bruce Lee was the last of a dying breed of mystical martial artists because no one else had ever come close to his level of sheer badassery. Whatever that meant. And the last was comic books. Actually, most were comic books if she was honest about it.

So instead she searched for information on the monk, Quánlì Rén. Which proved just as unhelpful. Most people were skeptical that the blur in his photo was the broken blade as the records claim. Including one article which showed how impossible his "unbreakable skin" would be in real-life by showing the force of a bullets impact on skin and the biological makeup of the tissue. According to the article, his skin would need to be stronger than almost any metal on the planet, and different from skin on a chemical level. At least that would make for a good counter argument source for her paper, but arguing against any of this wouldn't take long. The whole idea was ridiculous and she should just change her topic before the deadline came up. Especially as now, the more she thought about it the surer she was that the Michael Jackson guy had used a wire in the YouTube, probably the same for the wheelchair girl against the car.

The only important thing she even found was another argument that pointed out that Quánlì probably had severe asthma judging by several descriptions of him by his friends. The thought of him not only going through his severe training as a monk, but excelling at it, simply did not make sense. He should have been disabled, not charging machine guns.

A week of fruitless research went by, and Coco changed her search words a hundred times trying to find something. But nothing legitimate and useful came from "Martial Arts Superpowers", "Chi Abilities", "Supernatural Martial Arts", "Qi abilities", "Inexplicable humans", "Abnormal human abilities", or any combinations of the like. She kept looking for something that she could actually use for a research paper, but at the end of the day there were very real limitations to the human body, and they made it clear that some stuff just wasn't possible.

No 5'8" girl, especially if she was in a wheel chair, was just going to stop a car from running her over with sheer strength. To do that would require enough muscles she wouldn't have fit in the chair, which clearly wasn't the case. And even the best soldiers missed some shots. Just because some general, a rank which would almost never have time to train for combat shooting, had a lucky day on the training field didn't meant he couldn't miss. Especially when you consider that prosthetics are not known for their stability. The blind guy was almost worse because it almost sounded like a PR set up with the thugs he had fought.

Desperation finally brought Coco back to Yatsu's video. If all of it had been crap, then there was no point in going further anyways. She had engineering classes she should be working on, no point wasting time on some pseudo-science. Nothing had changed about the video, exact same as it had been a week ago. The comments were interesting though, a lot of the same skepticism from the rest of her research. Except for one from LionOfTheRedDawn:

[I know most of this is bullshit, but I'm friends with a couple of the people from this video and they are amazing people in real-life. Even if you don't think the stunts are real, it takes a lot of dedication and training to even come close to them.]

This had originally been followed up by its own little comment section that Coco largely ignored as it talked about stuntmen work and training. None of which the original poster had made any comment on, as if the replies had missed her original point. But then LionOfTheRedDawn had followed up recently with a link to a news article and her own thoughts on the matter: [Haters gonna hate; some of us aim to win.] Not that it meant much, but this poster, if she was friends with the people in the video, was the closest thing to a source Coco had at this point. One news article wouldn't hurt.

 _Blind to Danger, Local Athlete Turns Foreign Vigilante: "The last Paralympic games ended with Great Britain earning almost 150 medals, second only to the People's Republic of China. However even outside the games the athletes show incredible abilities such as one Fox Alistair, who was released from jail and acquitted of all charges this morning after apprehending two criminal gunmen while visiting his grandmother in Kenya. His complete visual impairment proving to have no effect on his ability to fight even outside the dojo, as this is the second time he has been suspected of assault and battery. The previous time involving a pub-fight between the young athlete and eight football fans who mistook him for a member of the rival club. Despite receiving several injuries in the process, Fox was able to keep both himself and his father, a bystander and long time local, safe in the ensuing brawl…"_

The picture for the article showed a man her age covered in scars, playing with a russet border collie who wore a neon yellow service animal vest. The bright coloring contrasting heavily with the man's black pants and tank top, which showed arms covered in scars and veins that highlighted his athlete's build. Combined with red hair and the scars, he looked like he'd be every bit as scary in a fight as the article made him out to be. None of which explained how the intimidating, handsome guy had survived two fights now that would have killed him. This was the real world, where two on one was never in the lone guys favor, even without weapons or another six fighters.

Coco still didn't believe the paper topic wasn't a wash, but LionOfTheRedDawn was her last shot. Otherwise she was going to go back to Oobleck and talk his ear off about explosives until she could make that her new topic.

Less than a day later she got her response to her email. No text or message, another link for another rabbit hole. This time leading to a forum called "The Semblance of Qi" and the admin's email address.

VAV

Norway

V

There were several core principles when it came to training in Tai Chi, but first and foremost was to move slowly. Patience allowed you to test your balance, check your posture, and ensure your movements were exactly what they were intended to be. Speed in training encouraged each of these to weaken.

However, when playing Soul Calibur against Nora's character of choice "Rock", as she did her level best to pulverize his poor Xianghua, he didn't feel too guilty in just spamming the Y combo that put his girlfriend as far away from him as possible. Not that it worked well. The character was a tank, and he was barely doing anything to the health bar with his spamming. He was just happy he lasted the minute before she blew past his assault and left Xianghua beaten into the ground.

He groaned a little, but that was the extent of it. Jaune could be found on a computer at any hour, especially given the fact that he teaches them, and Nora just loved fighting games period. Between the two he never had a real chance in their little tournament. Then Jaune had found a friend online a few months ago who somehow managed to keep up with his weird hours and now they had another member of their friend group who could beat him in video games. Returning Nora's hug with one of his own before she turned back to the screen, he turned to the group chat and saw Jaune's friend had already commented on the last fight.

[Pyrrha: Good job Ren.]

[Ren: You saw that I lost, right?[

[Pyrrha: I did, but Nora seems to be particularly energetic today. I expect she's going to beat me as well.]

[Ren: I doubt that, but thank you.]

[Ren: I'm going to get snacks for the rest of us. I would offer but, you know."]

[Pyrrha: Thank you nonetheless. I'm sure your food is quite good given Nora's tendency to rave about it in detail.]

Ren glanced over at his flat mates and the epic battle between the unstoppable Rock and Jaune's constant blocking as Cassandra. His strategy may lack flare, but it was hard to deny the fact that shields were invented for a reason. A reason that let him keep up with even an energetic Nora. Either way, they were going to be busy for a while. Long enough for him to get out to the kitchen. He pulled out his scroll and saw there was an email for him. Not from one of his tai chi students, who were usually the only people to contact him, it was from the forum this time.

[From: CAdel

To: Administrator

Subject: Student Research

Hello. My name is Coco Adel and I'm a student at Midsomer University doing research on martial art's impact on history as part of a Sociology and Anthropology Class. The paper will have a specific focus on those who have shown abilities that can't otherwise be explained. I was directed to your forum by LionOfTheRedDawn, who I believe is one of your forum's members. If possible I would like to join as a member for academic research purposes by conducting interviews with yourself and the other members. I recognize that personal details must remain non-disclosed, and my research on the forum will only be for foundational purposes. Any personal interviews will be vetted by all parties, and my professor, for safety reasons, along with a signed permission slip as required by my University. Thank you.]

Semblance of Qi was technically his project. Nora suggested he create a forum as a way of… understanding some of his own quirks, and with a computers teacher in their flat it wasn't particularly hard to do. A few internet searches and a couple of invites had created a small group of people to chat with their own unique tie, even if the language barrier had kicked them hard. Half the group only spoke Spanish, and aside from Fox, the rest spoke English only as a second language. Plus, one of the girls gave him the creeps like no one else, but that was a different kind of barrier.

Ren? You okay?

Nora had joined him in the kitchen, clearly hesitant over something. And by the looks of it Pyrrha must be doing her best to take on the team champ. Jaune only yelled when he was at his wits end which, outside computers, was admittedly quite often. Apparently Patroklos Vs. Cassandra was proving to be an interesting battle.

It's nothing.

Your staring at your scroll. Bad news?

Arslan wants to invite a new girl.

Does she have… you know?

No. She's a student, doing research on kung-fu abilities.

Normal kung-fu1 or…

My kind of kung-fu.

Oh?

Nora pulled herself alongside him, not quite a hug, more to nestle herself into his side. It made communicating harder really, but she was the clingy sort no matter where she was emotionally. She also knew better than most how much he valued his privacy. This new research student, by her nature, wouldn't be able to give him as much. But at the same time, it felt right.

He taught his students that martial arts were supposed to develop the body, mind and spirit. That the day they stop pursuing these goals was the day they stopped being a martial artist. To tell another student to give up didn't feel right, felt like it would bite down on her own spirit even from afar. He just didn't trust himself to make the sacrifice willingly.

Are you going to let her join?

I'll talk to the others first. I'm sure they have their own doubts, but I think I should.

She didn't seem entirely convinced. To be fair neither was he. However, this was hardly the biggest breach in privacy for them, Jaune and his inability to keep a secret still won the award for that one, and they lived through that. It's not like too many people were going to read a random college essay anyways, one student wouldn't change their lives. Not really.

So if you're letting her join, can I finally have my own account? I'm thinking MuMuTheHammer2 for a screen name. Nora asked.

I'll talk to them. Probably introduce a plus one policy, and then I could add you in.

Awwwwww, Does this mean you have a crush on me? Letting me be your 'plus one'?

Nora, we've been dating for two years. I'll send the girl my reply. Those two still flirting out there?

"Pyrrha definitely is, Jaune still has his head up his ass."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Came Pyrrha's motherly tone from the system speakers. Cheerfully hoping that Jaune's poor English would not recognize the conversation's subtext.

Nora turned back to her partner, signing over to him with a regretful shrug. Apparently.

Can you call out to him for any requests.

Sure. And Ren?

Yes?

Love you.

Ren didn't bother to hide his open staring of Nora as she stood to leave the kitchen, reading every little detail about her. From the happy creases in her eyes as she blew him a kiss, to the legs toned from her life in physical education, to her veins he helped made sure remained un-constricted by stress, her point of balance she insisted on leaning ever forward towards the next point, every part of her body and through to that pool of positive Qi that made her ever irresistible.

Love you to. The words spelled out for the smiling face as it turned around, halfway to leaving, and reminded her always that past sins were forgiven. She was and always had been a positive influence on his life, no matter what she said otherwise.

VAV

Semblance of Qi

V

"Hey Fox."

"Arslan."

"Heard you had an interesting vacation in the end."

"Shit. How did you hear about it?"

"Dug up a small news article, but you were lucky this time. With the Games far enough away, you only made the one piece in a England sports section that's still waiting for football season to start up. Not even a local headline. I only found it because I wanted to win a internet argument."

"As long as it stays little, I can manage. Did I tell you about the guys who tried to pick a fight with me after the last one? Had to change pubs just to get away from them."

"You could just quit drinking. For a professional athlete, it's dumb even by your standards."

"Back off, or I really will visit for that spar."

"Right, just keep talking."

Fox didn't have to turn as he felt the soft tremors of paws moving across his room, reaching down to ruffle Mouse fur as she pulled herself up to commandeer his lap. Even after all her training to be his guide in the normal world, he'd never been able to convince the girl she wasn't supposed to be a lap dog. But they didn't have long to talk, Arslan got up early to exercise before classes, and he needed to sleep at some point tonight. The time zone differences made their chats work, just not entirely convenient, and this time he couldn't just shoot the breeze. "Did you see Ren's post about the research student and the possible membership rule changes?"

"Yeah, that one's on me actually. I made a comment about knowing you after some people started dissing us in a comment section for this video. She sounded safe enough so I sent her Ren's way. If nothing else, he's more the historian of the group, the rest of us are just gym nuts."

"Can't really disagree with that. Do we need this though? We all agreed we wanted this to be a closed group, research students are the opposite of staying closed."

"It's fine, not like she can cite us anyways. A supernatural martial art paper is only interesting as a premise, at the end of the day the only people who are going to read it is her professor and some of us. I'd be surprised if the Spanish side of the forum3 even bother. None of them speak English, and the translation software never works as advertised."

"I have been having more luck with translations lately. But if she's fine, what's with the weird username?"

"Chanel'sGAU8? I asked a buddy of mine at school whose big into military stuff and he said the GAU-8 is a big-ass minigun, so we were guessing she's American4. But no idea who or what Chanel is. Look, I wouldn't worry about it. At least the girl isn't as shady as Mercury or Neo."

"You say that like it's possible to shadier than those two. I still don't think he's a bouncer."

"But you believe Neo's a 'software security specialist'?"

"No, no I don't."

VAV

VAV

"English", [English], Norwegian Sign Language

1: Kung-fu: any discipline or skill achieved through hard work and practice; any study, learning, or practice that requires patience, energy, and time to complete. Dedication required, not martial application.

2: It was very important to research if resident expert, Darcy Lewis spelled it MuMu, MewMew, or Myeuh-muh. Unfortunately, I lacked the official transcription of her work and settled with the shortest option.

3: Semblance of Qi is a multi-lingual forum, however within the limited members there's about half who are fluent Spanish speakers and half who can speak English, most as a second language. People who meet the forum requirements outside of these languages theoretically exist, but Ren couldn't hunt them down given the language barriers. Notably, they know of no one in Africa, despite probably having the highest number of potential members given known variables.

4: Big-ass machinegun, mounted in the A-10 "warthog" close support airplane. It's exclusively American usage, so I'm not just mocking my own country. Let's be honest, Coco just likes big guns.

V

JNPR needed some actual characterization to get the ball rolling, but the Forum was more important. Next chapter I'm going to be elaborating on what I mean by Ren signing about My kind of kung-fu. It's important. I wrote the story description that way for a reason.

In case it isn't obvious, there's a lot of exposition needed to push the plot. Something I'm not entirely used to. Normally I just write character conversations and half-hearted platitudes about cuddling, or academic papers. Haven't had to worry about plot in years really. This has also made issues, as once again my globe spanning idea makes languages important. So please, pay attention, it should be adding up. Devil's in the detail on that one.


	3. Chapter 3

\- - -3- - -

October

VAV

Midsomer, England

V

Coco idled on her laptop as she waited, doing her best to ignore the happy couple doing homework in the room with her. Even if they were her best friends and happily chaste about it all, she would be lying if she didn't admit to jealousy over their blissful times.

She said she would call this "Ren" guy from the forum fifteen minutes from now, and she already was wishing she hadn't agreed to the video chat. The emails had explained that the forum preferred video calls due to his own deafness and another member's blindness. Considering she didn't know any sign language, and they would have to use text for the interview anyways, she still didn't understand it. But growing up, her parents had always stressed the important of making the right impression. Everything about a person, from clothing, to posture, and voice could drastically change how you interacted. If she wanted to get anywhere in life, she had to learn how to create a sincere image for others to see.

That meant a carefully selected gold, ruffled blouse and brown vest, complimenting her black slacks and boots for an image of reserved class. Never gaudy, always impeccable in taste. Instead of curling up on her bed, she managed to use her desk for its intended purpose for once. Allowing her to square up her shoulders and sit properly. She even made Velvet clean off her desk so the background of the video would keep up the image of dependable student that she wanted the interview to have.

And when the clock was just about to reach the 7:30 appointment time, she clicked the button and waited. The dialing tone rang, and then kept ringing for almost six tones before someone picked up. It didn't take long after it picked up for her to realize that the man on the call with her wasn't Ren, because she had seen this face before.

"Arslan? What are you doing up? You said you'd call at after midnight my time, it's not even eight."

Okay, so the blind vigilante guy from the article had picked up the phone. She had five-seconds to come up with something or this was going to look bad quick.

VAV

Newton Haven, England

V

In more ways than one, Fox was a lucky guy. Being born with cataracts took away what was for most people their principle sense long before he could ever develop the others. And it's not like being blind took away from his quality of life, even before Mouse he was perfectly capable on his own. His only issue had little to do with anything physical, only a mental block until he found that he only ever excelled in one field. On the mats or in a pub, he was one of the best fighter in the isles.

He'd be lying if he said he didn't like it, but the problem with that was that it didn't pay. Not for a blind guy who could never turn professional. Even after he came home with the medal, the only way to make money for an athlete like him would have been to get into sponsorships which wasn't going to happen for someone who couldn't fake a smile in any way.

The only reason he could afford his small studio apartment was because one of the coaches had offered him a job out of high school. He wouldn't call himself a good teacher, he just knew martial arts and apparently wasn't too bad at explaining it to others. His recruitment had only been for the gym's prestige, and he didn't care. He did his job well and it paid the bills, it was fine for now.

So, that was his life, teaching what classes he could at whatever times worked. Given his minimalist living, it worked. Even if he did have his doubts about the future, for the time being he could just focus on training and helping others train. Including one such student over in Turkey who was practically his best friend. They had a weird schedule if they want to chat. Considering she was basically his only friend these days it was worth his late nights to meet her early mornings. So usually when he came to his room after the run from the gym was when he showered and had a late dinner, and after a while answer the call and shoot the breeze to a half awake Arslan. That was still hours from now, which meant something must be up, usually nothing good given teenage drama.

Sitting down at his laptop, he started taking off Mouse's vest and hit the enter button to answer the call. "Arslan? What are you doing up? You said you'd call at after midnight my time, it's not even eight."

No answer. "Something up? Did you have another fit?"

Then a voice answered him. Not one he recognized; it was too confident, coming out as a local accent despite the twinge of French on her r's, and with a husky sound like she was leaning across the bar, drink in one hand, trying to flirt with him. Her voice bled a tone that would make Helen of Troy jealous, and even cheap microphone and speaker wasn't going to make that every bit clear to him. "Well, this is a pleasant surprise."

"Do I know you?"

"Not yet, but I'm looking forward to changing that."

And that was his cue to hang up the drunk dial of whoever this was. Sexy as she may sound, he just wanted dinner. The only problem with that was the forty-pound dog climbing into his lap and eagerly pushing him away from the desk as she maneuvered herself to look at his screen. He did his best to reach for the escape key, however at this point Mouse was bridging the distance between him and the desk, pawing at his lap trying to keep stable. Any movement on his part could send both her and his laptop crashing.

Instead all he heard was the voice on the other side laughing and taking on a lighter tone over his dilemma "Hello, you must be Fox's brother. What's your name?"

Fox said, fighting to bring himself back to his own desk despite his chair's new passenger. "Her name is Mouse, and how do you know who I am? Or have this number?"

"I got the number off Semblance of Qi's About page, it said I could call here for questions. Though it was supposed to be with the Admin, Lie Ren. I was scheduled to meet him."

"You're the research student then, what was it, Chanel'sGAU8?"

"Yep." Popping the P as if she was still grinning over something. "Nice abs by the way. The picture of you in the paper did not do you justice."

In his defense, he had just come back from a run and it wasn't like Arslan cared one way or the other. "Look, the website must have been wrong. Ren's computer guy is apparently a bit of an airhead. He must have mixed them up. Let me just give you his number, okay?"

"You're not going to ask for my name? Something?"

"It's Chanel'sGAU8, all I need to know. Look, I'm hungry and need a shower, so unless you need something I'm going to hang up."

Fox hadn't meant to make it sound angry or bitter, but he could do nothing about the exhaustion in his voice. Just by nature he had an angry looking face, and times like these it was hard to make his voice sound any different. And whoever this woman was, it was like he had stunned her with that. Not that he knew why, it was late for a dinner and he clearly had just worked out. So why did that have her on the back foot? Enough that the background chatter on her side, the kind he wasn't supposed to be able to hear and always did anyways, had went dead silent.

"What?"

"I'm just not used to being turned down." The caller said.

"Turned down? All I want is food."

"And I just wanted to have an interview for this bloody paper. Instead of some Norse guy, I get the bloke who's article convinced me to even do this in the first place which is completely different. So, you'll excuse me if I'm still trying to figure out what to do with this situation."

"I told you, I can give you his number."

"Alright then."

"Okay. It's…" Fox started to speak, while in his mind, he was still stuck on Chanel's voice. The husky demure that had turned maternal as soon as Mouse had poked her head in, and now had its own bite that he couldn't understand. Something about that sound just made him wish he wasn't hanging up on her, even if it was the right thing to do. They never stayed anyways. "Anything else?" Time to move away from this.

"One thing, actually. How do you do it?"

"Do what?"

"'Blind to Danger', knockout two gunmen, fighting off eight hooligans. I'm not some idiot. No one does that in real-life. Someone starts swinging and everything turns to chaos. One guy doesn't pop out of a movie screen and win the day without a scratch."

"To be fair, I have gotten plenty of scratches." Fox almost moved to indicate his chest where he had the scars to prove it, only to hear her voice come back with a tight sound like she was smirking.

"I can see that. Still doesn't answer how you do it."

Fine. She was committed to this rabbit hole; he might as well help her dig it out like a good fox. "Can I at least make food while we talk? I'm still starving."

"Sure."

Mouse had to be shifted off his lap before he could go anywhere. Not that she complained as soon as she saw him heading towards the kitchenette. He wasn't the only hungry Alistair in the apartment after all. Dishing out her food and retrieving his own ingredients, he started to explain to Chanel'sGAU8 to the sound of Mouse's happy munching.

"When it comes down to it, you're right. One on one, your odds are usually as good as flipping a coin. You hear about all the stories of one fighter taking on a small army. The reality is that even an idiot can figure out how to flank, or hit at the same time, or take the opportunity to find a weapon. Honestly, no matter how much training you have, I'm still going to bet on two people beating a loner."

Fox shut the door to the microwave with his shoulder as he stirred the salad of sorts he had made. It wasn't a gourmet meal, but it had the calories and healthy stuff that he needed. In his experience, when it came to healthy food bland tended to be better than flavorful anyways.

"So instead you have to learn to stack your opponents. You hear about keeping your back to the wall which is good advice. Just keep going along those lines. I've trained in Judo almost all my life, if I want to keep a hold of someone I can. Meaning that it becomes a question of putting the guy I'm holding between me and his friends, and since I have the clinch1 I know exactly where I'm hitting."

"What's a clinch?"

"That's when you grapple with someone, tying them up so they can't use their strikes properly. Boxers do it when they want to stop being hit, but most martial arts used them as a way to fight armored opponents. Which after moving in, and even If my grip's not the tightest, I can still use whatever part of the body that I can get a hold of combined with some leverage to move them around. Bash them into walls and what not, which keeps me from breaking my hands like punching blindly would. With the kids I like to steal one of Jackie Chan's quote, 'When fighting angry, blind men, best to just stay out of the way.'"

"So that's it, that's your kung-fu secret. Back to a wall and human shields is all you need. Sounds like bullshit. And you really should try that dish with lemon pepper."

"I don't keep spices around, takes too long to catalogue them all. So, you really do want to write a paper on… how'd you describe it? On the forum?"

"'Kung-Fu Going Beyond the Impossible in History'. It's a working title."

"Definitely needs some help. Do you even know what kung-fu means?"

"It's the Chinese word for martial arts, right?"

"No, that's wushu. Well, kind of, but kung-fu better translates to dedication to a skill, which in this case is more accurate. I've been blind from birth. That's why I first got into martial arts." No need for him to add that the training also helped reign in his rather notable temper. "The training allows me to have a stronger sense of where my body is, where others are with just a touch of their skin. And just that, training and discipline only goes so far. But I knew I could do more, and as a kid read about elephants communicating through seismic waves2, so I thought why not me?"

Fox continued uninterrupted as he sat down on the counter. "The correct answer that both my sensei and doctors told me is that the human body is simply not designed for that purpose. I make it work, somehow. Not that it helps most of the time. It gets all muddied up what with cars and crowds. And it's completely useless when it comes to furniture. I swear half my scars are at home for the dumbest shit, nothing to do with fighting in the slightest."

"Oh? What about the other half then?"

Fox had never learned how to handle other people's sense of sight. It was a foreign aspect of society that he lived within and did his best to ignore. As far as he was concerned, Mouse was his eyes. However, he still had to develop a sixth sense when it came to other people eyes on him. Even if he wasn't terribly good at it, anyone could have felt the way this woman kept her eyes on him. That tone of hers had come back, the one that had started all this tonight. He still didn't know what was up with this girl, but he was ready for some of it at least. Best he could do was cover up and be prepared for what strikes came his way. It wouldn't be his first set of scars.

"Wouldn't you like to know Ms. Chanel'sGAU8."

"I would. And call me Coco."

VAV

Commorragh, Indonesia

V

The Warehouse that served as their little base was kept dark during the day, the contrast serving to keep inquisitive eyes outside their windows. Even if they had entered, whoever it was would find only shelving units, unmarked crates, and an open staging for trucks that so rarely seemed to come. Cinder Fall, his boss and the leader of their little operation was the exception to the standard. Her office, tucked back in the corner of the building and away from said windows, was always kept brightly lit and neat for her work, as if she expected legitimate business to occur here.

To be fair, at least today she did indeed have a visitor. Some Italian fop with a taste for budget cigars and unending tirades, who apparently still thought he could define terms for their illicit contract. Mercury had learned quickly to take the boss at her word; after all, she had guys like him to handle her troublemakers.

"Bet you a beer she gets the contract unedited."

Mercury paused his wide legged pushups, holding the downward dog so he could look up at where she lounged on the crates. "No deal. Cinder always gets her way. No way you're catching me on that."

Emerald nodded along to that comment and left him to return to his workout. Only this time punctuated by a new sound, the soft click of heels on the bare concrete. Quieter than Cinder's dominating steps and somewhat duller in pitch, which was evidently due to the blockier heels that had stopped by his head. Close enough he could almost kiss the toes of the smooth, off-white leather. He'd have head-butted them or something instead on principle, if he hadn't spotted the telltale ridge of steel toes.

[I'll take that bet.] was typed on a brightly lit phone and shoved into his face where it glared harshly in the dark. Contrasting nicely with the dark glare of his own that he sent up at the owner from his position on the floor. Smirking as he did so over how little he had to tilt up to see her, as she bent over in a bow that also gave him a rather lecherous view of her blouse.

"What does she want Merc?"

"To take your bet apparently."

The phone moved back up near its owner face, bringing attention to the half of her head dyed bright pink and the finely tailored jacket that matched the boots. [Roman's not a weakling when it comes to this stuff. 3% won't cover our side. Nice to finally meet you Greaves.]

That had Mercury on his feet much more quickly than he cared to admit. Only a handful of people would call him that, and only one of whom would be here today. Ren's new plus one policy for the forum had given Cinder her chance for recruitment, using Emerald as her spokesperson. That had allowed her to get in touch with IceCreamQueen, the forum's resident crazy, who happened to be working as a bodyguard for the kind of tech and logistic expert that could use a 'bodyguard' when dealing with his customers. Assuming the meeting didn't go to hell in there, their old friend Tukson would probably be given his termination shortly and Cinder would have a chance at getting a new star fighter in the process. Which did nothing to deter him from the fact that IceCreamQueen here was nuts. Silent thus far, pretty, flaunting a decent rack and ass to boot, but in forum full of dedicated martial artists she was the only one who seemed like a killer by nature. Certainly, not one to turn a blind eye to.

He ignored Em's background questioning chatter and stayed focused on the pink and brown eyes as they held out a new message. [I saw your last fight, against the Russian. You're good. Might even land one if we ever spar.] Her smirking face made it clear she doubted it, but Mercury's confidence rose as soon as he read spar. In the cage, he didn't have to worry about her umbrella, a custom built, carbon-fiber 'unbreakable'3 weapon designed as a openly concealed self-defense weapon, deadly in the right hands. Or for that matter the stiletto that she claimed was sheathed on the shaft, when she had talked about it on the forum.

"I'm sure it won't be just one, queenie." Thankful he hadn't just called the sociopath in the room pinkie instead.

"Ah, Mercury, Emerald, I see you've met Neo already. She and Roman will be helping us with the server upgrade. I'm sure you'll all get along just fine."

Emerald eagerly agreed to Cinder's barely veiled order, just like she always did, while Mercury managed a half-hearted shrug. Something about the way Neo was keeping her eyes on him had him worried still, but the boss lady knew what she was doing. At least she was still better than the lot up at 'Headquarters'.

"For now, Emerald, if you could help us alter our draft of the contract, Neo and Mercury can go handle our prior employment problem."

Cinder went back into her office after her short announcement, closely followed by his besotted coworker, and leaving the Italian to trail behind where he could better leer over his retreating boss. Only after he had his fill did he turn back to Mercury and Neo, giving the younger man a more practical once over before turning back to his resident 'bodyguard'. "Play nice with your toys, Neo."

She gave Roman a nicer smile and nod than the smirks she had been throwing at him before turning her phone's screen back towards him with a new message. [Looks like you owe me some beers.]

Mercury looked down at his new charge and realized her weird look was directed at him, only this time it looked rather more like the one he got by the girls after his fights. And compared to the last couple hook-ups, she was hotter and somewhat less crazy. Or at least a different kind of crazy, which still had him interested if nothing else. "Tuckson lives up north of here. If we take my motorbike, we can stop at a bar on the way back. Not my usual place, but it's not bad."

[Sounds good.]

VAV

VAV

"English", [English on phone]

1: Clinch: refers to clinch fighting, a form of stand-up grappling that uses holds such as bear-hugs to control the opponent's movements and minimize their ability to use strikes or weapons.

2: news. stanford .edu / pr/ 01/ elephants37. html

3: unbreakableumbrella .com

{I'm really trying to get these links to work, and their not working :/ }

V

Mercury meets Neo, realizes very quickly that she is every bit as scary and psychotic as her internet persona implies, and then takes her out for drinks. This is when it's sad but true that I chose him and Fox for my POV characters based on similarities to me.

Fox almost lived on the Island of Sodor, but he needed ready access to a pub more than he needed good public transportation (even though he can't drive). Likewise, Indonesia was a tough choice, as Cinder's lot I always imagined living in Oceania, hiding their operations in places where money can buy anything. And while I could have made political statements, I would think my lack of any real-world places would make my apathy for politics apparent. Indonesia was instead chosen because of its 6-religion system (because it was interesting to read about) and the horrible internet service. Because what better way to hide a black-market internet operation (to be described in more detail later) than in a host country with no ties to the major business. I chose Commorragh specifically because it is a city, and could fit the martial arts Hong Kong/Shanghai movie image that I have in my mind. Admittedly, I'm not sold on the idea since it has no ties to well… anywhere really story wise, so they might just ship somewhere else later if I think of something better.


	4. Chapter 4

\- - -4- - -

October

VAV

Midsomer, England

V

"I still can't see you as a teacher."

"Why?"

"You're just so grumpy about everything. I'd expect you to hate kids."

"Thanks." Fox grumbled back, "Kids are easy to handle, like animals. They find something they want and stay on the problem if they're kept focused. Linear thinking is fine, Adults are just too stuck up and convoluted to get anything to work."

"Are you always this chipper?"

"Only when awake or sober."

Coco responded with a drawn out hmm as she Fox sat back in his chair from turning on a slow bebop station. Not her choice, and didn't really fit his look, but the music was growing on her. Fox had played some form of jazz in the background ever since her first call, though it was diluted by the poor-quality microphone picking it up. She didn't have a right to complain anyways, not since she had convinced him to leave the camera on for her. Especially considering how often he forgot that fact in favor of ditching his shirts after the gym. "So, all I need to do is sleep with you? Sounds interesting."

Fox turned away from his rather simplistic cooking to shoot her a pointed look through the laptop screen. Intended as reproachful, the effect was the opposite with the aggressive image it gave him. Like everyone he met was a rodent for his namesake's hunt. None of which matched with a personality that seemed more concern with the comfort of the collie he doted on than even his own meals.

"I thought you said you quit drinking."

"More like the pubs don't serve me anymore and drinking alone is boring."

"Oh? Maybe I should visit then. Buy a bottle of something to share."

"Coming from the woman who always complains she's behind on her work. I'm surprised you could fit a visit into your schedule."

"See but you're my project's muse, the one who keeps me focused on the subject while I look up all this crazy kung-fu stuff. I have Velvet for engineering projects, but she doesn't have quite the same potential for intimacy, or view." Laughing as Fox suddenly clutched his bare chest, and ran to grab a shirt from somewhere behind the camera's view. Remembering as belatedly as always that it was a video call, not just audio.

"Speaking of which, how's the paper going?" He called out from elsewhere in the room, returning to the camera only after he was properly clothed once more.

"Hard to say. Ren pointed me to your honorable-members discussion from a while back that helped. Professor Oobleck loved the story from the crusades that MuMuHammer added on since the duel lacked the usual 'epic' flair and seemed more realistic and it also contained both Christian and Muslim examples. He also went on a long rant about how pilgrims with leprosy often served as frontline fighters much like Norse Vikings used drug addicts. Now I'm just stuck trying to figure out the science side to all this. Because none of this adds up."

"Good luck with that. I can't speak for the non-English side of the forum, but the rest of us agreed we would skip the how and move past to the why. Less biology and science being broken that way."

"You have a theory then?"

"Me and Arslan have been throwing the idea around that it's because of our disabilities and the extra rigor they add. It makes all our training happen from a point of disadvantage, and that's something we argue is the crux of martial arts. You see it all the time in self-defense classes, usually from people who look like easy targets. But BrokenGreaves; I don't think you'll get to talk to him, he likes privacy; he says the disabilities are a coincidence and everyone else is lazy. Apparently, he was already an extremely talented fighter before he lost his legs. IceCreamQueen doesn't care, and isn't keen to explain her own abilities anyways. And Ren believes it's because we can manipulate our qi more efficiently since it's been altered so drastically already. Not something I believe in personally, but it's hard to argue with the guy who can see it. And it's not like any of our theories help, since we're rather lacking in the facts department."

"No mutant-gene theories?"

"No. We know Ren and Greaves both got their abilities after their accidents, and Arslan's family has well-recorded family history. She knows her own condition is genetic, but she's the only one in the family who got super powers for it. The rest are more known for needlework. I got my mum one of Mrs. Altan's for her birthday, they're very nice."

"It's just the way you all talk about it, it's like one of those old Wuxia films just without the plot really. No offense, but half your stories begin with 'while I was training'."

"It feels like one sometimes. One of those epics where you can leap from buildings onto the tips of swords and fight mythical beings with impunity, only to go back to a conversation where we have to remind Arslan to watch her pranks in case she spasms when lifting, and trading recipes over health foods. We joke about it to, awesome power but at the same time none of us are using it for anything really. I'm the only one who gets in the news and every damn time it was because of my dumb lack of luck. Here we are, practically with superpowers, and there's little to differ us from any other gym rat. It's just, what else could we do? Everyone talks about great powers and great responsibility, but it's a different time and our powers aren't the kind anyone wants anymore. Can't tell if that makes us relics or fools, or just missing something right in front of us."

Coco paused her note taking as Fox stifled a yawn behind his drooping pale eyes. "Go to bed. You're starting to sound loopy."

"Yes Ma'am."

"And tell Mouse goodnight for me"

The dog gave a woof from where she wandered across the small apartment, and Fox gave a tired smile. "You catch that?"

"Yeah. Night Fox."

"Night."

Coco closed her laptop as the video went black. Her dimly lit dorm room shaded slightly by her bedside lamp and Velvet's string of lights around the window. Leaving her roommate's screen-lit smile as one of the brightest things in the room as she peered over from her place on the opposite bed in their default, curled up, homework positions. "What?"

"Just thinking. You and this misdial guy seem rather chatty."

"Our schedules match up. It gives me an on-hand source for most of this stuff. He barely cracks a smile, but its better than working in silence."

"Come on, I heard the shirtless comment, which is not happening by the way, and you only talk about clothes when you're flirting. You've literally done it since we first met."

"I flirt with everyone. It's part of my allure."

"I know, I know, just thought it's been a while since Flynt left…"

"He is not another Flynt." Laughing a little at that comparison as she climbed out of bed to save her dying battery power. "That was a disaster in the end."

"Only because you two never communicated. But you admit you are at least flirting with Fox, right?" Velvet kept talking as she typed away at her computer, not even bothering to raise her voice or lift her head as Coco responded from her place rummaging at her desk.

"He basically spends the entire time flaunting those abs, I can't help it."

"Coco, this is why you keep breaking people's hearts."

"Relax Bun-bun, he barely even notices when I do it."

VAV

November

Newton Haven, England

V

"Didn't you say she was annoying because she kept flirting?"

"Yes."

"Then why are you two still chatting a month later?"

That he didn't have a good answer for. Fox was usually a practical guy, and nothing about that stoic nature really defended taking an action that he had specifically told Arslan he disliked. Which left him with the half-hearted excuse of, "She has a nice voice."

… "So you don't like her flirting with you, but at the same time you're going out of your way to keep talking to her." 1

"It's not out of my way really. My hours are weird and I'm already staying up to talk to you. It's like killing timing with an audiobook except the narrator sounds nicer and the dialogue with flirting sucks."

"We're talking about the same girl, right?" The one who interviewed me was not the kind of person who flirts badly."

"Why? Too chatty?"

"Too poised. She had clearly made sure the video call looked and felt like an interview. Not even a stumble when she realized how much younger I am or that I was in a wheelchair. I can't see her doing anything halfway enough that it would badly."

"All I'm saying is that it sounds silly."

"Honestly, I just don't get you Fox, a girl that hot and you're over there holding her at arm's length."

"Okay then, have you asked out that Reese girl yet."

He almost laughed as Arslan brash tone turned timid quickly, and for once made her sound as young as she was. "No…"

"Ok then, matter settled. How have the nerves been?"

"Ah. I had another spasm yesterday at school. Literally got out of my chair for five-seconds so I could use the vending machine and I end up on the floor. Nadir was there to help me back into the chair, but then she came over to check on me and I was so embarrassed I almost fell out again. It was awful."

"At least you didn't get hurt this time. Kind of defeats the purpose of using a wheelchair for safety if you keep getting out of it."

"What about 'Neurological Disorder' implies safe to you." The bitterness in her voice over her own genetic condition one he could easy relate to, he just had a few more years to get over it. But they also handled it differently. He had structured his training around using touch to alleviate the impact of his condition. Arslan answer had been to simply repeat any action however many times she needed to. A bull-headed determination that made her more stubborn than any teenager he had ever met, and let her repeat katas until she literally collapsed. She might not have his experience, but there was no doubt in Foxes mind that one of her palm strikes would break any bone in his body.2

"It could be worse. A couple days I had a couple stop me and ask if I could take their picture. Apparently, they couldn't read Mouse's vest either."

VAV

V

Fox closed his eyes and leaned back against the fence, happy to ignore the chores he was putting off in favor of an hour or so simply keeping an ear on Mouse as she played in the dog bark. The problem with being a junior instructor, as much as he enjoyed it, was that he worked 7 days a week to make up his hours and had no control over when they were. Tuesday and Thursday mornings was the closest he came to a day off, and thus the best time for him to relax and rest.

Buzz buzz

"Fucking hell." He went to great lengths to make sure no one knew his number, which meant he could lay odds right now that he was getting called in to cover for some ass at work. "Hello?"

"Jeez, put the fangs away Fox. It's just me."

"Coco? Why are you calling this early? And how the hell did you get this number?"

"I bribed you friend when I interviewed her, don't ask how. Now can I ask you a question or are you to busy snapping at me?"

"Sorry. Sure, go ahead."

"Quánlì Rén was executed in 1901 by drowning, and our Ren said his first experience was when he was 14, which makes him the oldest in our group at 2002. That's a hundred years where I can't find anyone with powers. No hints, no stories, nothing. Here I am outlining for recent history and all I have for a century is a gap that doesn't make sense considering everything else that developed during that time. So…"

"One sec to think here." Martial arts history was really Ren's specialty, alongside health benefits, but Coco had called him and he wanted to pull something out. Which would be easier if she was one of his students who had a practical base he could build off and not a backseat historian somewhere here in England. Still too far for him to walk he idly noticed. "If I had to guess I'd say it would be shift in the prevalence of guns."

"Meaning…"

"If you bend the definitions a little, all the techniques we teach can be summed up by the Force=Mass*Acceleration equation, accuracy, and range. Spears were always popular because it had all the force and accuracy, plus an extra meter or two of range. That shifted to guns because the range was now measured in kilometers, and accuracy increased because you can't deflect the bullet. Muskets around the Napoleonic Era were limited in the accuracy department, which let older methods last in some areas of the world, but the 1900's was around when the machine gun and bolt action came into play. Now anyone could have either accuracy or rate of fire, which makes martial arts feel obsolete."

"We still have gun you know, that has changed in the last couple decades."

"Yes, that's why I said, "feel obsolete". MMA and cinema have given a better press these days. And the Military and police have moved back towards classical styles because it gives them a way to restrain suspects without the lethality. Then the standards of living have gone up, so it's easier to start up schools. My own gym would never have lasted without that. However, the biggest thing is probably the general shift, or acknowledgement really, that martial arts are not for wars anymore. That means they can focus on self-defense and personal development, and the focus is actually being respected."

"What about all the sports stuff like you do?"

"It's just another way to develop your own skills, but the skills are limited. You get a lot of experience within the system, but translating that into practical aspects does take extra steps. Learn about the dirty strikes, your environment, times when the sports allow for bad habits like taking hits you don't need to. All of it. The fact they don't take that step is why 99% of dedicated ground-fighters are useless on concrete."3

"All right then tough guy, then what's your answer to a mugger with a gun?"

"Depends, definitely hand over my wallet if that's all."

"What about New Mombasa? The article?"

"Those guys were high and just wanted to kill me, that's different. And I got lucky there. His finger wasn't near the trigger when I hit him with the door, plus they only had the one AK. I wouldn't bet on those odds."

"You gamble?"

"I played pool, once. Even hit one of the balls, somewhat."

"Yeah, that's sounds more like you. A real player."

He didn't mean to laugh at the last bit. It wasn't particularly funny, just that the softening in her tone had proven to alluring for him not to. Lacking the harsh critique that had started their chat, so it could take a light heartened tone he still couldn't understand. "Do I still need to distract you? Cause I can keep ranting if you want me to. There's a nice long one about the history of Taekwondo, since it was in that period."

"I'm sure you can. It's fine. I get very focused when it comes to test and projects. Which is fine until I have to wait a week or two for the grade."

"You? Focused? Never would expect that, not from someone who calls me about a project due in… how many months?"

"Five. And who says I call you just about the project?"

"Since most of the time I'm just answering questions for you, pretty sure you did."

Coco's voice faded away as if she had pulled away from her phone when mumbling the next bit. Forgetting apparently that he was good at picking out sound. "Last time I take Velvet's advice…"

"Advice on what?"

"Nothing," Coco said, adding a bitter after note of, "apparently." To her words.

"Am I missing something?"

"You know, I thought my intentions were clear enough, but I can be more blunt if you'd like."

And that was how her tone went from flirtatious, to bitter, and now he was strongly suspecting that this was her angry tone. One that made it clear she would drive clear across the country if she decided to take it out on him, which was bad. "Blunt would be better. I'm not good with interpersonal stuff."

"I would like to go out with you sometime for drinks, or dinner, or whatever. Instead you just sit over there like a brick wall and ignore every goddamn hint I throw at you."

"Oh." Mouse coming back over to paw at him at least gave him a few seconds to think about his answer. Not that it helped, she would not be happy with this answer. "Honestly, you've had that same flirtatious tone since you first met, I kind of figured you just flirted with everyone. It's not like you said anything I could particularly work from other than putting on a shirt. Maybe you used some sort of visual cue? That happens a lot in books at least."

"So, is that a no?"

"That's: I didn't know you were actually flirting."

The exasperated sigh she gave him pulled down "…Is there anything logical in your head that isn't about martial arts? You can rant for hours and then… this…"

"I'm pretty good about finances, the bank keeps telling me I have a good credit rating and should take out a car loan. Other than that, not really. People are definitely not my specialty."

"Clearly. Again, makes me wonder how you've lasted as a teacher."

"I wave a shiny medal in peoples' face, and really hope it wasn't my bronze in the spelling bee."

VAV

Norway

V

Ren worked in utter silence, as he always did at work. Though, considering he couldn't hear at all since his accident, silence was usually the case around him. Furthermore, the flower shop he had worked at ever since graduating college was large enough that he usually could be found in some corner of the shop, diligently checking that each and every plant was tended to with careful watering and pruning, and that each order was completely ready for when it would be picked up. He would be the first to admit that his customer service skills were hampered, though all the regulars knew at this point that the key was to enunciate properly when he was trying to lip read, but he was still the owner's favorite since he could be trusted to keep everything else in working order.

It was peaceful work, he and his boss always got along, the other workers looked up to him, the hours were more than reasonable, and at the end of the day he enjoyed the work. Botany wasn't his first passion, but it was certainly a close second. Which is why he also enjoyed the fact that the boss had let him hang flyers up for his Tai Chi classes; morning at 7AM, Monday through Sunday at the local park, evenings at 8 PM MWF and Saturday, and additional lessons as requested. Between that and work, he didn't have a lot of time to spend with Nora, but thankfully she understood. Her work as a teacher made the morning sessions impossible, but she tagged along when she could in the evenings. And outside of work or lessons, she knew his time was hers. Which was why he really couldn't understand when everyone insisted on the idea that these days the only real martial artists were all professional fighters. It was a scotsman fallacy at best, ignored the number of trainers each individual fighter must have had, and failed to account for the fact that plenty of martial artists, himself included, were pacifists. He had never needed to fight someone, never wanted to fight someone, and frankly would happily give any mugger his wallet since he could just cancel his credit card with his old phone, that no one would steal anyways, and only kept a little bit of cash inside. Outside of extremely contrived scenarios, he was perfectly content to train for something other than money, and live his life as it was.

Though he wouldn't say no if offered a small raise. Nora deserved a nice wedding and their combined incomes were at a more sustainable level than expansionary. Were it not for their cheap hobbies; old video games, economy cooking, volleyball, and martial arts; they'd have to worry about finances a lot more. However, they had definitely reached a very comfortable point in their life together, and he was certainly looking forward to a few more. Then his phone started to vibrate with texts from Jaune.

[Ren, I'm freaking out!]

[Pyrrha just called]

[Apparently, she's coming up here for work]

[Which is weird, because I thought personal trainers would stay in one place]

[But she definitely said she's coming up here]

[And her plane is supposed to land tonight, but she only found out yesterday and was super sorry]

[The apartment is a pit, oh Oum]

[Not that she's staying with us, she's up at the four star in midtown.]

[How can she afford it?]

[We need to clean the apartment though, because c'mon]

Regardless of the fact that the constant buzzing was already annoying, Ren couldn't help but notice the time as he finally moved to respond. [Jaune, it's just after 1. Aren't you in class?]

[Not a problem, the kids are covering for me.]

[…It's a good thing your boss likes you.]

[This is important Ren!]

[Trust me, it's fine. Look, I'll make sure to head home straight after work, and straighten up a little for when she gets here.]

[Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh]

At least Jaune was handling this update appropriately. Ren debated whether or not to message Nora, deciding against after he realized how likely it was that she was handling the matter in person. Returning to his work instead, focusing on the small lotus pot that was clearly not looking forward to winter, even within the warmth of the flower shop.

V

Nora's arrival back home that evening was marked by her trademark energetic hug, jumping up so that she could pull herself up by his neck and press every inch of her body up against him with the same adoration she always managed to conjure. One that he equally enjoyed immensely and mildly regretted as her closeness made conversation more difficult. Instead he skipped a vocal greeting in favor of a chaste kiss to his girlfriend's forehead, soon followed by her own, less chaste version, after she finally hauled him down to eye level. A more time-consuming answer to be sure, and one he rather notably made no move to end.

Breaking for air also gave them the chance to fall back into their lumpy, used couch that he was supposed to be cleaning. Giving Nora the chance to shift around on his lap such that she could begin signing to him at a rapid pace that only came with years of practice for the sake of her best friend. I can't believe Pyrrha's actually coming to visit!

Did you ever hear why?

I sent her a message after Jaune told me, she said it was for a training camp.

Seems weird still, unless she just did it as an excuse to visit Jaune.

Well… Nora took her time signing out each letter of the word, from her crossed V's to an exaggerated series of wound up L's as her grin took on the manic expression usually reserved for pancakes on Sunday, sex, or spiking volleyballs into people's faces. He adored it, but years of being first her best friend, and later her boyfriend, also knew how chaotic events became around that particular grin. Good in the bedroom, but not something he was fully prepared to let loose on his two other friends. Unless she asked nicely, in which case Jaune and Pyrrha would be on their own.

Nora…

You see I mentioned it to one of the other teachers, and she pointed out that our friend happens to share the name of a certain celebrity.

Really?

Turns out she made headlines as a kid, undefeated in whole bunch of tournaments throughout the mainland. Nowadays she's considered the martial arts world new femme fatale and bantaweight MMA champion. Undefeated at Thirteen and Oh, even without her amateur record. I think the guy had a heart attack when we talked about it. Apparently, she's the MMA world's resident sweetheart.

Our Pyrrha? I feel like she would have mentioned it if that was the case. The Pyrrha he knew was polite to a fault and could be counted on staying up every night to play video games as late as Jaune could push it, comfortably on her side of the camera in baggy pants, and an oversized hoody. Curled up on her beanbag, with a wired controller she clearly had custom designed for multiple systems, she was practically the picture of the girl-next-door. Not the kind of girl who fought for a living.

*Oh Yeah* Nora's lip moving as she pulled out her phone. Going through her recent history, which included one "Achillas' best knockout compilation".

The friend in him was still coming to terms with her as a fighter, of any sort, but the martial artist watched the video with a different view. Pyrrha was clearly a balanced fighter, showing heavy hints of both Muay Thai and jiujitsu, combined with another that he couldn't quite put his finger on. All of which was evident in her knockouts which showed how simple her strategy was in practice. Kneeing a tackler in the face, clinching a boxer so she could throw the poor woman to the ground, hooks for a Taekwondo black belt; consistently she used her own balance in technique to find a weakness, circle her opponents with superior footwork, and once available focus on the weaknesses until her opponent was completely out of the fight.

She didn't play around on the mats. Usually he could count on her to be less competitive when they played video games, compared to Jaune and Nora at least. Against her, he'd get a chance to play for a little bit as she tried around with other characters or new combos. Clearly, that attitude did not apply to her fighting style. Tai Chi taught him to deflect his opponent's force, whereas she favored blocking strikes focused on her. Any subtlety she applied was a quick feint, nothing that might unsettle her form, and then she could go back to her objective immediately. Even when he peered closer at her chi, he could see no weaknesses. She kept her body relaxed, her chi allowed to travel freely throughout the body. Only concentrating in any one place at the exact moment of her strike or block.

She wasn't the perfect fighter. Even he could note that she lacked enough strength behind some of her attacks, minimizing the effect of what should be her finishing strikes. Aside from that reluctance to engage however, she was certainly one of the best he had ever seen; and all he could think about now was how odd it was that she was head over heels with his admittedly dorky roommate.

Does Jaune know about this?

I don't think so.

So should we tell him?

I wasn't planning on it. We can let Pyrrha have her privacy, and I'm sure he'll work it out eventually or she'll tell him.

Ren nodded a few times. Before adding his one question over that statement. How long has she been flirting with him again?

VAV

"English", [English Text], Norwegian Sign Language, *Norwegian*

1: Tsundere- 'a character development process that describes a person who is initially cold and even hostile towards another person before gradually showing a warmer side over time.' I'm sorry, it wasn't intentional. At least you're not the one who now has to wonder if he is one.

2: My notes say Arslan has Athetosis, but this is NOT my field so that could be a misdiagnosis on my part, especially since a different section of notes theorizes epilepsy. She got started in martial arts for physical therapy, and traveled abroad from her home in Turkey for training (I've debated quite a bit on her style, answers vary in my head so hopefully none of you call me out on a straight answer). These days she likes to show off with cars (or ice blocks). {Apologies, I don't think I'll be able to work this in more naturally.}

3: That last 1% (exaggerated of course) though is scary as they know the blood chokes and joint locks which disable faster than strikes at the same range; and similar things can also be said about several striking styles. Fox just has some of my own biases.

V

I didn't forget about this story, but I am stuck on chapter 8 and was holding off posting until I could keep my lead. I miss writing Bailey's and Coffee where I only had to worry about one chapter and finding a cheese grater to make things happy.

The issue has been in the works for a while now, but this chapter more than most requires me to clarify something. I do not write any character who is smarter than me (there will be one later, but that'll be obvious), meaning sometimes they get shit wrong in and out of universe. This is especially annoying since I made Fox my author avatar in some ways (I'm not blind, ginger, or a blackbelt in Judo for starters), which means when I state theories they are my own, while not necessarily being right. To a degree, that then implies I don't even know what's going on in my own story (only somewhat right). Meaning that what I have is a very clear idea of what it means to overcome plateaus in training, and enough martial arts and writing experience to get only part of it on paper but not near enough. Which is why I could really use comments, just saying…


	5. Chapter 5

\- - -5- - -

November

VAV

Commorragh, Indonesia

V

Rainy days were made for many things when it came down in a steady sheet. Relieving the constant humidity of the region as it pushed people under cover rather than try to swim through normal life. Not that Mercury would ever have called his life normal, and he had no doubt his companion had her own story. But as far as his landlord was concerned, a one Chen Zen was simply a warehouse worker who wanted the rooftop suite so he could train, and whatever girl he brought home was his own damn business. An apathy he guaranteed by keeping his rent payments two months in advance, while staying the hell away from the asshole.

Even on a good day that gave him his privacy, and in the midst of the storm it gave him and Neo a fortified suite when surrounded by the half-flooded roof, which had turned from his training yard into a new moat.

It didn't leave them much to do. Technically, they had gotten together for some training. Cinder was pushing him to get Neo into shape for a match, probably planning on selling her as a dark-horse fighter. A handful of gamblers would bet in her favor, but anyone who knew how these usually worked would easily count against someone with her tiny frame. Unfortunately the boss wasn't listening to him, the guy she hired because he was good at this shit, whenever he told her that it wouldn't work. Neo never exaggerated when it came to her fighting ability, the problem was how she did it. Balancing her slight build with her weapons, something that didn't translate well into a cage. The focus on extra range and striking power so that kicks could remain her chief unarmed weapon also made ground fighting a much riskier prospect than it was for him. Which meant he honestly didn't know if she could beat Em or any of the other serious grapplers once she was limited by the rules. Underground fighting certainly enjoyed less restrictions to dirty fighting. At least half his opponents had been roid-raging, the only real lesson was to remember that sponsors still needed a show from the fights. Something Cinder, the refs, and any savvy participants, the ones who came back, knew very well.

For now at least, he was perfectly content to call his fucking Neo's brains out as rolling1. Laughing when he realized how jealous Em would be when she found out. "Ow."

[Less laughing, more pounding.]

"You know, for a mute you seem really loud.]

[You don't get to say that when you're the only one grunting.]

"Fine then. Turn over." Neo gave him a wide smirk as she tossed her phone away. Giving her derriere one last wiggle before flipping towards him, and locking her legs in closed guard2 so she could pull them even closer together in the process.

V

Neither of them were into cuddles per se, but a couple hours later found them stretched out on his hammock. Capitalizing on the small overhang that made up his porch on the largely featureless moat of a roof. The noise from the sheet metal above them drummed out his voice, and he strongly suspected his companion preferred it that way. Given that the enforced silence also had turned him into her foot masseur, it certainly provided an immediate benefit.

With his eyes focused on the forests at the edge of the city, and his hands occupied by feet so calloused they reminded him of his own be fore the 'accident', Merc would have been content to ignore her phone when it landed on his side of the hammock. Neo's kick to his thigh forced him to re-evaluate. He mouthed "what" at her and all he got in return was her pointed gesture to the phone. [Bored/] Of course she was.

Mercury was forced to type his response thanks to room's noise. Tucking the phone between her toes so she would be forced to bring back her foot to read it, and let his old grey hoodie ride up in the process. The view was almost worth this girl's narcissism. [What do you want me to do about it?]

[Stop just staring. You must have something we can do.]

[Than this? Yeah, but we both said we needed a break after the last couple hours going at it. Plus, we just showered.]

[Nothing else?]

He glanced back through the window to his small, barren studio. All it consisted of was his small bathroom, a kitchen that rarely saw much aside from protein shakes and warming carryout, and his bedroom with little more than a futon and laptop's charger. For an insomniac, he never was good at filling his time. Just trained or put on some kung fu flick3 while he killed time online. Cinder usually came up with some other chore she needed done. Given the weather, his options were limited.

[Not much to do around here. I usually put on something to watch and then try to catch up on sleep. Unless you actually want to train in all that.]

His gesture towards the thick sheets of rain were met by her rolling eyes, only to turn into eyes of delight as rooftop stairs were kicked upon by a gang of young men in cheap, black suits.

[I'm going to change. Kill some time until I can get back.]

Mercury's voice followed her through the window as she jumped inside, yelling over the rain's noise, "Grab me a weapon or something". Hurriedly typing into his own phone as fast as he could manage. [Cinder: Junior's Gang apartment. Ok to engage?]

[Mercury: Get video] Coming back in record time, with zero help offered to fight over a dozen gang members. Who, true to Junior's trope-laden beliefs about organized crime, all carried firemen axes. At least this time he'd be able to one-up FoxGrip for street-fight stories. Shame though, he liked this pair of sweatpants; and a shirt would have been nice. *Hey guys, what's all this about?*4

*Junior sent us to pass a message. Roman owes him, and his cheating girlfriend over there is going to deliver it for us.*

"Wow, okay." Clearly not because Cinder had planned for Neo to face the Korean twins he sponsored. Two easy wins so Neo could be sent up against the big betters, and a set-up she had claimed would be discreet. *You received bad information though.*

*What are you talking about? She's right behind you.*

*No, I meant she's not Roman's girlfriend.* He turned just enough to see the silent woman behind him, already soaked to the skin as he was, yet careful to keep one eye on the gang. Though he did gesture rather pointedly at the disgusted face she pulled at the thought of dating her boss, while he kept his pointedly straight, nonchalant even and hoped none of the gang spoke english. "Weapon?"

A wet towel slapped down on his shoulder. "Really? What kind of psychopath ignores the knife rack?"

Neo didn't take the time to type out any response to that. She was already busy, her umbrella hooking the front man's neck. With a hard groin kick to disorient and a yank, the man was out cold as soon as she switched feet to properly hammer him with a hard knee to the jaw.

Which also meant Mercury didn't have time for chatter. Too busy trying to keep his distance from whichever fireman axe got too close on a wild swing, all he had time for was basic front and side kicks. The kind that were designed to break doors, his kicks were great for knocking out breath and pushing them back, just not for finishing any of them off. If this was just some belt-factory's mob drill, he'd be fine. The first axehead that he half-deflected, and almost broke his arm despite his efforts, made for a painful reminder that he needed to finish quicker rather than later.

Anyone else in the world would have been sent reeling with a useless arm thanks to the micro-fracture and bruise, but for all the height in his kicks Mercury never lost his balance. A reel turned easily into a pivot, and a one legged crane into a steady horse stance before continuing with the momentum to knee the man behind him. At least one rib breaking in his victim as Mercury pushed his way out of the circle.

He took a half second to shake out his numb arm when he brought up the towel Neo had brought him. Risking a glance her way, peering through thick rain gave showed him only a shock of pink. Just in time to see her deflect a basic woodcutter's swing down into the leg of another mobster, and what little force had been taken by her umbrella in the deflection turned neatly into a spinning back kick to the head, leaving both the chopper and the chopped down on the ground. One screaming over the shattered shin bone as he bled out over his concussed friend.

Slipping away from wild side swing, Mercury almost ran into his own woodcutter in the process. Barely catching it with the stretched out towel so he could wrap it up. The mobster trapped just long enough to swing him in the way of his own backup, before taking a round kick to his head that concussed him enough to finally let go of the axe, before the followup reverse round kick took him out of the fight entirely.

There were already sirens in the distance, which was little comfort considering he still had three axemen pressing at him, and at least someone was still yelling obscenities at Neo. It also didn't help that none of his attackers seemed to care about the sirens. Either because they were too concerned over the badass duo, a compliment if that was the case, or more likely they had paid off the cops.

Back-stepping against another two swings, Mercury found himself with one foot against his own apartment's wall. This didn't leave him much in the way of options, and less in the way of maneuvers.5 His luck finally came with a chip in the wall when a axe became stuck for a half second, long enough for him to wrap up the welder's hands with the towel. Rotating them both clockwise allowed him to worry less about his left flank, and a kick to another axeman's knee let him add the right flank's axe to the towel's folds.

With their weapons tied up, and their own bodies in the way of the middleman's help, mercury had an instance to compare them to hands stuck in a pickle jar with hands still keeping their determined grips on the knotted weapon handles. Then he started to chain his kicks. Targeting knees, groins, kidneys, and heads, before working his way back down. Still stacking them against the last mobster, but happily noting that at least one victim had already taken some internal injuries given the blood pooling in his mouth. Even if it meant that the fighting had officially ruined an otherwise good pair of sweatpants.

Finally the kicks ended, two bodies dropped into the moat, and their weapons followed as one end of the towel was let go. Flipping it back into hand as Mercury stared down the last man standing.

Hands and towel covering any head strikes, weight shifting for the next kick, only to tense as he saw another flash of pink. Were it not for the thunderous rain he would have heard the flurry of shallow cuts across an unguarded back. Done for the express purpose of a long, drawn out death. A victim left to bleed out, gasping over what he clearly felt had been a dumb plan in hindsight. Cinder wasn't an idiot. She wouldn't have scheduled Neo to fight both the Malachite sisters unless she was guaranteed to win the first one, and wouldn't have assigned her prized champion as a trainer unless it was worth the man's time. Hell, the first rumors had been that the dark horse was scheduled for a 2-on-1 against them. Only two other fighters had ever even been scheduled for such poor odds, and both father and son were champions of the most cutthroat underground fighting network in the world.

"Still bored?"

Neo's smile was honest, innocent of the victims at her feet. Opening her umbrella against the rain, her eyes were still twinkling as she crouched down and wiped her stiletto off on a mobster's jacket before returning it to it's sheath on the shaft. Her expression changed slightly as she pulled her phone out of skin-tight and gloriously clingy pants. [No, this was much better.]

[Cinder wants us to pack up, head to her safe house north of the city. The police will be releasing a statement with your Chen Zen alias, but she doesn't want us in their system in any way.]

"Not that the two of us would stand out

[Speak for yourself. I'm a master of disguise.]

Mercury gave her a bemused look as his only publicized disagreement over her eclectic outfit and colors combined with quite a few fresh bloodstains, keeping his words to a resigned. "At least packing won't take long. Not like much fits on a motor bike anyways."

VAV

Semblance of Qi

V

JadeUndercurrent: Greaves hasn't been online yet, has he?

LionOfTheRedDawn: Not since yesterday.

MuMuHammer: Why? What's up?

JadeUndercurrent: Some guys were beat up and arrested at his apartment. Still trying to figure out what happened, figured there was a chance he might have come on here to brag.

Ren: Brag?

JadeUndercurrent: News said it was over a dozen guys who work for a local low-life.

Ren: Is he all right?

JadeUndercurrent: As far as I know. If he was seriously injured I would probably be called in to play doctor.

Ren: Please keep us updated though.

FoxGrip: Why did they even attack him in the first place?

JadeUndercurrent: Well… Can't say for certain, but you know how he says he's a bouncer?

LionOfTheRedDawn: Yes

FoxGrip: Big shock, he isn't.

JadeUndercurrent: It is his day job when they need help, and he's bored enough, but he mostly makes his money in the local Smokers6. So if I had to guess, someone bet big against him and lost. He has a bit of a reputation around here as being, well, good.

JadeUndercurrent: I know the guy who runs it, there's a nice profit margin and the regular fighters make a strong living it; a big believer in paying for quality personnel and keeping them comfortable. Can't believe this happened really. The boss is not someone I'd want to piss of.

LionOfTheRedDawn: That's good. Sounds like he's going to need the money if he's hiding from someone.

JadeUndercurrent: Yeah.

JadeUndercurrent: Holy Shit. The dumbass filmed it.

JadeUndercurrent: No idea why, but I just found it on youtube.

MuMuHammer: What's with you guys? He almost kicked one of them off roof.

LionOfTheRedDawn: Seriously cool though. I've never actually gotten to see him fight, but he's good.

FoxGrip: Really?

LionOfTheRedDawn: Oh yeah. There's a lot of rain obscuring the video, but still.

Ren: He has very good speed and power, mostly kicks, but has the balance and training to use them properly.

Ren: Jade, whose the pink girl?

JadeUndercurrent: That's IceCreamQueen. She and Greave's been shacking up since she and her boss moved here with a contract from the company I worked at. Why?

Ren: Because I watched the video again, she never took a hit.

Ren: Greave's is good, but honestly IceCreamQueen went through all of that and made it look easy. I've never seen anyone that good at simply not being hit.

VAV

Commorragh, Indonesia

V

Emerald pulled away from the computer to look up at Cinder as she hovered over her shoulder. Working in the brightly lit office, they had waited late into the night when they could catch as many members on the forum as possible. "I think it worked."

"Oh?"

"Well, Ren was always a long shot. He's always pushing for pacifism even in training, and would have no interest in competing. Which only left the LionOfTheRedDawn and FoxGrip for us to recruit. Lion's young, but she's hungry for something and definitely paid attention when we talked about compensation."

"And this FoxGrip?"

"Fox Alistair, he's paralympic gold medalist from England. Don't know how he feels about money, but he clearly is looking for a fight. You could tell he was envious to not have a better idea of how good Mercury is. I'm positive he's already typing something to Ren to get a better idea of how both him and Neo are as fighters. We could definitely use him."

"Might be hard to bill a blind fighter."

"Have him wear a mask in the ring, maybe?"

"Hmm. A gimmick usually, but at least he won't complain when it slips. And that way we can play it up later if it's worth it."

"Is he worth it though?"

"Mercury believed so. And Fox doesn't need to beat him, only provide a good enough fight without our champion sandbagging for five rounds. We already have Neo being prepared, once we have her competing it will shake things up some more. Just need a couple more fighters to keep the brackets interesting. We'll plan on recruiting Fox, and keep an eye out. I'm afraid Arslan might look too young."

"Compared to Neo."

"Neo looks like a middle schooler, and obviously isn't. Arslan looks like a teenager and acts like one. Mature, I'm sure, given her training regimen, but too naive. We won't be able to use her for a few more years."

"Anyone else then?"

"We'll keep out eyes out for any… promising talents."

VAV

Norway

V

It wasn't even two days after Pyrrha had showed up in their town that she pulled her first late nighter at their apartment. Staying up until two in the morning because Jaune and her wanted to play through a Halo campaign in one sit down, and late enough into the night that Nora had put her foot down about driving back. Hauling out all the sheets she could find so that Pyrrha would be comfortable enough sleeping on the couch. After that, the house that her coach had rented for her quickly became occupied by her training team and them alone. Pyrrha became the fourth roommate without even any effort on her own part, since Nora was the one who shoved the couch, beanbag chair, and dining table out of the way so she could put in a third bed into the tiny apartment without bothering to ask her. Ren was almost surprised she didn't take the cupid's route and tell her and Jaune to share his room, but clearly that was the one path she wouldn't push someone else into.

Sure things were a bit cramped these days. The bathroom, for one, was almost always occupied between three athletes' training schedules. And with the kitchen table shoved up against the wall, dinners were a rather sprawling affair since only two could sit at the table, or two and a half on the couch. Nora liked to say it was cozy, and Ren would disagree with her if it didn't also mean that most of the time she was 'sacrificing' her seat by setting herself up on his lap. A far from uncomfortable prospect, and one that was made more humorous as it forced Pyrrha and Jaune to sit next to each other. Where the alternated between blushing embarrassment over their counterpart's proximity, and the good-natured competing that was more like their usual friendship, now devoid of the geographical issue. Not that Ren or Nora could really be blamed for playing cupid if they didn't like it, as it was hardly their fault that neither opted to simply move.

A half-hour after the most intense sniper duel Ren had ever watched, Pyrrha let out only a single dejected sigh before handing the controller over to Nora who was already hyped up for the challenge. Considering how little patience Jaune had in everything else, he had even seen his roommate eating cold TV dinner's rather than wait to microwave them, it was funny to see him the so far undisputed champion of the night's Halo Sniper Challenge.

Content to let his friends bicker away, Ren glanced over to find Pyrrha on her phone with a shocked expression, out of place on a person who was more a gentile optimist 90% of the time. What's Up?

To her credit, she already spoke fluently in both English and her native Greek, and since moving here her Norwegian was close. Sign language however proved a little harder, no matter how hard she tried for his sake. Friend…Hurt…Hospital Was all she managed before giving up and tilting her screen to show him the article.

[Professional Fighter Hospitalized in Motorcycle Accident: Yang Xiao Long, champion amateur boxer, kickboxer, and mixed martial artist and now the second youngest female fighter in MMA, was admitted to Patch Hospital last night after a hit and run accident. Leaving Intensive care early this morning, her manager reported over social media that Yang was no longer in critical condition. However due to irreparable physical injuries she would be retiring immediately from fighting, and asked for prayers from her fans.]

[Daughter of Tai Xiao Long, a former professional boxer and co-owner of Signal Fighting Academy in Patch, U.S., she has mirrored her father's career in many ways. Including her meteoric rise at a young age, and the controversy with which she now leaves. With the accident occurring just as she was being considered as a potential contender for the Bantamweight title, currently held by Pyrrha Nikos, Yang has in recent become well known for her public work against several hate-groups. Allying herself with fellow young celebrity, Weiss Schnee, she has spoken out against several Neo-nazi and terrorist organizations, most notably a Mexican Drug Cartel named the White Fang. While police reports currently list the incident as accidental, when pressed by fans over social media, the local chief of police stress that their would be a full investigation and that their was reason to believe the accident was purposeful…]

Sorry to hear that. Were you two close? Ren signed.

[We hung out a couple events. I usually sat with her sister and friends when I went to watch her matches.] Pyrrha typed back.

Hopefully her PT goes well.

[Yes, but I'm afraid she's retired permanently. My manager emailed that she lost her right arm in the accident when he sent me the article.]

Ren paused himself there, leaving the conversation with a half hug to tell her sorry once more as he let his eyes glaze over while staring at the Jaune and Nora's game. Coco joining the forum had gotten the debate going once more as to the why's and how's of their powers, and the part of him that wasn't worried about Pyrrha and Yang was already wondering just how to help a boxer get back into the game.

VAV

"English", [English Text], Norwegian Sign Language

1: Rolling- Sparring for grapplers, where strikes are avoided and the goal is to either achieve a better position, pin your opponent, or force them to submit.

2: Closed Guard- A ground fighting position where the defender keeps their hips between them and the opponent. From their the legs are hooked behind the back of the opponent, preventing them from standing up or moving away. It also happens to look akin to missionaries.

3: Mercury is a film buff because I want to talk about movies, and Fox can't do that. Also because he would be the guy who throws popcorn.

4: Mercury is actually one of the most multi-lingual forum members, one of the few life skills his dad ever taught him.

5: Kicks work either through momentum or by 'loading' up the strikes to generate force. Both of which usually require area to maneuver if they are going to be full-force. In contrast Fox uses clinch's which most often work by redirecting someone else's force. In essence, Mercury and Neo both fight better when they keep moving, while Fox and Yang would benefit more from tight quarters. (This is opinion, but I'd like to say an informed one)

6: A term for amateur level and unsanctioned bouts. Either set up in parking lots and basements of bars and clubs as entertainment, or between gyms as a way for new fighter's to gain experience. Think Fight Club, except some people might pay to watch, and less industrialized than Cinder's actual business.

V

This is when their's actually a plot developing, which is probably my fault from the drafting phase. 1-4 was about world building and character's connecting. 5 would be when I have my first real fight scene (which is really weird for a story that's designed as an excuse for me to talk about martial arts) and then get across the idea that Cinder has her own plans for what the Forum should be doing.

Having difficulty with chapter 8, but I figure 5 can go out as Thanksgiving present from me.


	6. Chapter 6

\- - -6- - -

December

VAV

Midsomer, England

V

Even when he was simply walking in, Fox could already tell that this wasn't his Stardust. The smell of coffee was still the same, yet instead of the once conversation in the corner that always stuck around and a handful of silent readers, the small coffeeshop was filled with the sound of typing to the point Fix swore he could map the entire room by sound alone. He barely needed Mouse's help to reach the register given the almost sonar effect caused by the floors, glass walls, and at least ten laptops all spread around. "Hi, vente mocha, extra syrup; and can you tell me if there's a girl here? Brunette with a bob-cut, and I'm told there's a beret as well."

He was expecting the kind of usual, bored retail employee. Trying so hard to sound positive and failing nonetheless. Not that he blamed them in the slightest. The response he got was slightly… different. "Oh my gosh! You're the guy; the mugger guy! I can't believe she didn't tell me she asked you out finally."

He managed to suppress the wince that came with that unfortunate description, hoping as he did so that none of the other customers thought he was actually a mugger. "Sorry, should I know you?"

"Ah, my bad. I'm Velvet, Coco's roommate. I tried to introduce myself a couple times when you two were online, but she always guarded her screen time."

"Right… It's just, she always said her roommate was the shy, timid sort."

"Yep, that's me. It's just so out of character for her, usually she tells me everything, but your different. She didn't even tell me you were coming today. Anyways, she's over in the corner cause she didn't listen when I told her to do the homework earlier. I'll walk over with you just as soon as I'm done with this. Cream?"

"Yes, please."

"No problem. Here, follow me." Velvet came out from behind the counter, and Mouse seemed happy enough to follow her lead the short distance towards one of the quieter booths. "Coco, you'll never guess who I just met."

There was a delay, then a quiet, almost horrified, "…oh shit" as the table was filled with the flurry of fluttering papers being thrown out of the way. Fox couldn't help but smile at his flustered date as she took another second to tug on fabric before responding. "Hi, sorry for that. Just catching up on some work."

"So I hear. It's fine. I know this is a busy time for you student types."

"Alright, well I'll leave to two to do you. Fox, do you want me to look after, Mouse was it?" Velvet asked.

"She'd only get in your way. We're fine, thanks."

"Not a problem. Coco will pay me back later, since apparently she owes me a story." Velvet walked back to the counter after that, giving Fox the distinct impression she was enjoying holding this embarrassment over her roommate.

He waited until her footsteps were safely back on the mats behind the counter before letting his blind eyes settle back towards his reason for this visit. "You can tell her it's my fault you didn't tell her. It's somewhat true."

Coco had lost her sense of surprise at this point, and Fox was sure she had settled herself down into a pose that was undoubtably both sexy and lost on him. Shame. "No luck. I've known her since we were bairns1. She wouldn't believe me even if I agreed with you. So, first date then, what do you want to talk about?"

VAV

Semblance of Qi

V

Just because he denied it to Arslan, along with her enlisted allies of MuMuHammer and Greave's friend JadeUndercurrent, even Fox wasn't completely oblivious to Coco. Furthermore he was far from against the idea himself, it was more like he had boxed himself in at this point. Coco had backed own to the point that it was hardly subtle, just restrained to the point he would have to actually step up if he wanted it to go anywhere. At least one lazy part of himself was quick to point out that he could have just let Coco drag him into a date if he hadn't been a jerk about it earlier in their friendship. Instead he now had to buck up and ask her out. One, minor problem with that had left him to seek help, which was even worse of an idea than he first expected.

LionOfTheRedDawn: How have you never asked a girl out?

FoxGrip: I'm blind. It doesn't come up often.

LionOfTheRedDawn: I'm a lesbian, in Turkey. Do you want to know the statistics I'm working against? And I'm younger than you.

LionOfTheRedDawn: Seriously man, this is when your whole loner-vibe really kills you.

FoxGrip: I should counter, the only girl you told me about was at the monastery with you. Tibet, not Turkey, not sure if that helps my argument or not statistics wise.

FoxGrip: But the question remains, what should I do?

LionOfTheRedDawn: Well, wait till she calls you, like she does often enough anyways…

FoxGrip: Ok.

LionOfTheRedDawn: Then ask her out. You guys already have agreed you find each other attractive, so that's one headache over. And you chat regularly, so the only real difference is doing it face-to-face and making things a bit more, y'know, romantic.

FoxGrip: You're no help.

LionOfTheRedDawn: And you're a thickheaded, die-hard introvert.

MuMuHammer: You're overthinking this. You ask, She says yes, and everything's awesome!

FoxGrip: Well how did Ren ask you out?

MuMuHammer: He didn't. We picked up dinner a couple years back, just as friends after work, not together-together, and the waiter said it was a date. I didn't have a chance to correct the guy, so we just left it at that. I joked on our way home when our next date would be, and Ren said he was busy, but next week would work.

FoxGrip: …I don't think that will work for me.

MuMuHammer: Stop thinking. At some point an opportunity is going to come up, and you can just ask then.

FoxGrip: It's not that simple.

LionOfTheRedDawn: Goddammit Fox

Chanel'sGAU8 is trying to enter chat

FoxGrip: I hate you all.

LionOfTheRedDawn: Fuck off, asshole

Chanel'sGAU8: Ok, real quick question for you guys on something called Nguni2.

FoxGrip: Coco, before you can read the thread, want to get coffee sometime?

Chanel'sGAU8: Sure.

Chanel'sGAU8: Arslan, MuMu, thanks for not letting him delete the chat history.

VAV

Midsomer, England

V

"I don't know. I thought it was obvious by now, this is not my area of expertise."

"You did ask me out…"

"Yes, because I like you. But normally our conversations focus around you asking questions for the project, or telling me stories. Which is fun, just makes it harder for me to work off the cuff here."

"Well, why don't you ask me something."

Fox took a sip from his mocha, buying time to mull over that suggestion. He could always joke about playing Truth and Dare, only Coco seemed like she would enjoy that and he would end up with the short stick. She wasn't the kind to keep secrets or feel shame over any of his dare ideas. Didn't matter though, because what he wanted was to give her the frank truth she deserved anyways. "I wouldn't know what else to ask. You've already showed me how dedicated you are to your work, and don't seem to hesitate to take on more. You know better than most students how to ask professional, but you also seem to drop back into more of a relaxed but dominant role whenever possible. You also seem to like having more introverted friends, so I can guess that you tend to maintain that dominance. Velvet's clearly an old friend, but she seemed genuinely surprised by your fluster when I walked over. Must happen rarely then. Doubt you're looking forward to having bosses in that respect. Thankfully, you seem like a natural leader, so I can also guess you have your own plans to jump rank quick enough."

"I can't tell if you're pulling a Sherlock deduction on me or a palm reading."

"Hopefully a Sherlock since I've never held your palms. Calls are limited like that."

"Well, I can change that easily enough." His own hand; scarred, calloused, and wrapped comfortably around his drink; was peeled away by something different. Her hand running gently across his entire arm before settling down and clasping them together, letting him feel every pore of her smooth skin. And it was smooth, clearly treated by some cream that tickled his nose alongside her shampoo's rich smell, to go with fingernails that were iron strong, and kept carefully trimmed and smooth. Doubtlessly for the sake of her mechanical work, just, unlike him, the blemishes of her work never seemed to show on her body. Were it not for the softness of her body, he would compare it to marble instead. "So, what's your question then?"

"Dogs or Cats."

"If I had to choose, I can think of a couple of cute canines in this booth pushing the argument in their favor. Are you sure that's your first question though?"

"To be fair, Mouse would honestly be one of my few deal-breakers. I like you, in case that's not obvious, but she's family and kind of necessary. Do you have a better one?"

"Maybe what's your family like?"

"Only child, so it was just my parents and me growing up. I have extended family, but most are over in Kenya, except for my mom's sister who lives on the coast. My dad immigrated here shortly after college to work for a tidal energy company, and met my mom then. Mouse joined us 2 years ago, and Bibi, my grandmother, moved in with them back in August. You?"

"Also an only child, so that's something in common. Both parents work for this big hotel chain, and we moved around a lot growing up, but four years back I convinced them to let me stay at just one school so I could focus on my studies. That's when I finally started living in Midsomer and visiting my parents over breaks, mostly in France."

"That would explain the slight accent."

"Yep. Velvet's family basically adopted me after they found out, but they're about as extended as it gets for me."

"To be fair, we don't really stay in touch with my extended family."

"So I only have to worry about your parents and sister here for approval, good to know."

Fox took a second to notice his lap was curiously empty, a pause that was filled by shifting on the bench next to Coco and soon the gentle thwaps of Mouse's tail happily against his leg. "To be fair, I think she would marry anyone who pets and feeds her."

"Oh, what about you?"

"Pretty sure that's skipping a few steps."

"Maybe, but you've been a hard person to read in all this. So, what's your poison?"

"Whiskey and Coke, unless it's cold out in which case I usually have Irish coffee. Not really a beer person, usually end up with some sort of mixed non-fruity drink in the end."

His grin didn't falter as the boot kicked him under the table. Not going to lie, he enjoyed the few times he could actually beat Coco in word play. Sure he was apparently a master of the stoic defense, but every now and then he actually managed to turn the tables on her and it was hilarious. "Asshole."

"It was a legitimate answer."

"Don't make me kick you again."

"Honestly, it comes up rarely enough that I couldn't say. All I know is my personal rules for who I date."

"Which are…"

"I trust them, and I'm attracted in some way."

Coco sighed loud enough to wake the dead, though at least this time wasn't his fault. "You're not giving me much to work with here."

"Think about it this way. Odds are against you dating your true love first and only, that's just numbers right there. But at the end of the day, you need to trust someone and ideally your partner should be one of those people. Otherwise you're dating for money or status, neither of which I care about. I'd hope that's pretty obvious given my current job. And frankly, I don't plan to spend my life alone, so I have to be attracted in some manner. I just also want to recognize that the kinds of attraction vary. No offense, but I have no idea how attractive you are in any sort of physical sense. I know Arslan thinks you're hot, which is great and all, but I couldn't tell you what she finds attractive either. So I just have to work with what I do know, which is that I am definitely attracted to your voice. Add that with a trust based on my previous character analysis, and I feel justified in having asked you out."

"…Wow. You really know how to woo a lady."

"To be fair, I also have no idea why you agreed to this. I know with dating I'm supposed to be polite, but frankly I know I'm an asshole. Everyone knows I'm an asshole, and I'm told that usually it's a bad idea to tell people about how much you fight."

"And yet you never started any of them as far as the stories go."

Fox sat back on the bench, sinking into it with arms crossed and puzzled expression. "Huh?"

"All the stories you gave, I don't know of one where you actually started the fight, except for the one time with an assault rifle. So violent, yes, but that still says some other stuff about. Unlucky, probably being the biggest characteristic I can see."

"No argument there."

"And for all your aggressive talk, rough looks, and apparent inability to stop brooding all the time; your one big deal-breaker for dating was about Mouse. No mentions of what's my hair's like, how much I weigh, the fact that I'm part French; no your more concerned about how I'll treat your best friend. Which is more the kind of friend I want around me. Sure, even as your friend I worry a little about you getting hurt doing something dumb…"

"Me? Never." Fox's voice taking on a dry tone at the long list of stories Coco already knew to expect from previous chats.

"…But not about you hurting me. Or my friends for that matter, which honestly is what I'd be more concerned over. Hell if anything, I think dating you would get me a free bodyguard in the process. Also, in case I haven't mentioned this, unlike you I know exactly what I find attractive. Your voice is ok, but you definitely have other… interesting features."

"What do you mean?"

"You got buns, hun."

"Huh?"

"Finally got to use that line, and the guy doesn't know pop cultures. I find you easy on eyes, and progressively easier with less clothes."

"Ah."

"I'm saying you're hot."

"No, I think I got it now."

"You sure, I can keep going?"

Fox stretched out his legs, accidentally brushing Coco's in the process. And for once he didn't feel a need to apologize, instead grinning as he felt her eager tension. "Fine, one more."

"I thought your fashion sucks, but we can fix it easy enough. Just throw everything on the floor of my room and don't bother picking it up."

He couldn't stop grinning at her, admitting that he was more than comfortable with the woman's endless flirting, and debating whether or not to run with that thought when another two cents were thrown in to the mix. "Only if you pick everything up later. I'm not cleaning up you two's mess." Velvet said from her position behind the counter.

His grin turned into a laugh, and with it came Coco's clenched legs as she shifted in her seats. Probably sending a look towards their resident voyeur before turning back to him. "Sorry, she has… good hearing."

"I can appreciate that."

"Course you can Daredevil."

Sigh, "Why is it always Daredevil?"

"Because now I'm imagining you in leather pants."

"Oh, well, as long as there's a sensible reason, that's fine."

VAV

Semblance of Qi

V

MuMuHammer: So… how'd it go?

Chanel'sGAU8: Where's Fox?

LionOfTheRedDawn: He left a message for me that he'd be covering a night class for one of the other instructors tonight. Usually that means he doesn't have time for chatting, so you're in the clear for gossip

Chanel'sGAU8: Still can't believe he's a teacher of any sort.

Chanel'sGAU8: It went well. Definitely had good chemistry, and honestly I think he relaxed more in person.

LionOfTheRedDawn: Yeah, he told me that he prefers face to face.

Chanel'sGAU8: So he can pick up more senses?

LionOfTheRedDawn: I'm sure that's part of it, but he told me it had more to do with allowing him to punch the other person.

MuMuHammer: I can see why you two would get along then.

Chanel'sGAU8: I don't punch people.

MuMuHammer: Sure, but you're definitely more forceful than the average joe.

Changel'sGAU8: That would imply I'm in anyway average.

LionOfTheRedDawn: or humble.

Changel'sGAU8: That's rich coming from Ms. Car-puncher.

LionOfTheRedDawn: I just find it funny how much trouble the adults here have with something as simple as this, that's all.

Greaves: Yo. What's tonight's debate?

MuMuHammer: Coco and Fox went on a date.

Greaves: So they banged?

LionOfTheRedDawn: Now that's a good question…

Chanel'sGAU8: I hate you all.

MuMuHammer: It's like you 2 were made for each other.

VAV

Signal Academy, US

V

Click click click click.

The clock behind her bed had been counting the seconds for her ever since she had come home. One at a time without a single pause. The minute hand and hour hand were both quieter, to quiet for her to hear in the silent room. And as long as she remained alone, the clicks of the clock remained the only thing to mark the passage of time inside. Click went eternity, click went a millisecond; Yang couldn't tell the difference.

It wasn't her arm that she missed. Or her professional career that had just left alongside her right hook. She could handle that. But it was much harder for her to think of Blake, missing as far as everyone knew and if she had to guess was back in Mexico. Weiss had been dragged away back home to the North, and Rubes… she told everyone she was back at school. But Yang wasn't an idiot, the only proof anyone had of that fact was all online records. So really, Ruby could be anywhere in the world and no one would know.

Pulling herself away from the window, she felt the force of deadweight that held her down and managed little more than to pull out her phone. Filled with missed calls, unread texts and messages, and games she no longer found fun, Yang eventually found herself in her inbox pretending to clean it out. Filled with emails from friends and fans alike, she couldn't bring herself to read them for the same reason she had stayed in this bed as if she had lost a leg instead of an arm: sheer apathy. Even now she couldn't bring herself to respond to anyone, and did her best to just delete the usual spam and ignore the several hundred others that were actually awaiting responses. One email idly caught her interest, tucked in amongst the well-wishes and general spam.

[From: Admin

To: YangtheDragon

Subject: Welcome to our Forum!

Welcome! Thank you for applying to join our forum. Having reviewed your application, and received sponsorship confirmation from: *GoldenTraveller*, we are happy to have you join us. Below you will find your username and a temporary password that you will be asked to change after longing on. Please remember that this is a diverse and international forum, and we expect each member to conduct themselves civilly.

Username: SunnyLittleKoi

Password: aRb2x7iBz

We look forward to chatting with you.

Yours,

The Semblance of Qi staff

. ]

Okay. So last time she went drinking she must have signed up for some online community. Weird, since that would have been after her last fight back in October, and usually her parties involved more topless dancing and make-out sessions. Actually the only weird part was that she apparently had both time between her usual antics and the dexterity to type.

So what had drunk Yang found so enrapturing she wondered. Clicking on the link, she found the kind of boring forum she could find on any of a hundred websites. The fact that it listed six out of 11 members signed on after she entered it didn't exactly bode well either if it was that small. Then her eyes panned down to the Archived chats and things started to get a little more interesting.

A protein shake cook-off, fists vs palm strikes for street fights, best training shoes for indoors and outdoors, all topping the list of long line of conversations that seemed to be covering anything and everything related to fighting or martial arts. There were a couple of weirder titles; how can Greaves alter balance points, floor vibrations aren't reliable in real life, and what the fuck is IceCreamQueen's power; but they probably had a much simpler explanation anyway. Greaves probably meant shin guards and the weight difference when practicing kicks, and it was clear this group did talk about stuff outside fighting, IceCreamQueen must play some video game or something. Everything put together, it looked like some sort of martial arts forum. Cool; not sure why drunk Yang applied to join instead of just drinking more, but better to stumble on this than her usual escapades.

Course, that was before she opens up the current chat.

[Greaves: So they banged?]

{LionOfTheRedDawn: Now that's a good question…]

[Chanel'sGAU8: I hate you all.]

[MuMuHammer: It's like you 2 were made for each other.]

Okay, so it's a martial arts forum that also chats about romance. Any of her own notions that group would just be talking about workouts or whatever was very quickly pushed aside by the realization that they were in fact real people. Somewhat less mystique that way, but they sounded more… normal. She could use normal.

[Ren: Hello.]

[Ren: I didn't know we had a new member.]

Shit. This Ren guy had started a private chat, which did nothing to make Yang feel any better about visiting… whatever this was. [I got invited by the administrator.]

[Ren: That's either my flatmate or me. I was just checking in since he usually asks me first.]

[I don't know what to tell you man. I got the email, I logged on.]

[That's fine, and regardless, welcome. Do you have any questions? I'd be happy to answer.]

[Well…] Yang debated, the single typed word waiting alone on the screen for her. She really didn't know what was going on here, and her… apathy, of late would really prefer to just take in the scenery outside. But then she thought of the emails still waiting for. [I'm not really sure what this is. I'm pretty sure that I did the application drunk, and I haven't really seen an about's page to remind sober me.]

[Ren: That's actually a hard question to answer. Mostly we're just just a group of friends who hangout online. It started outs a martial arts forum, but not all of us train. My girlfriend for one, though she is a Physical Education teacher. And more specifically we focus on martial arts for the disabled. In the interest of full-disclosure, I'm deaf and several other members have similar difficulties. FoxGrip specifically asked me to tell new members that he prefers calls since he's blind. He can text, but it is a slower process than he likes.]

[Seems simple enough.]

[Ren: We try.]

Yang was ready to close the private chat as soon as they said their goodbyes; maybe read some of the archived chats, maybe just log off; when Ren aded one more thing. [Ren: I don't mean to pry, but even drunk you can only find us with a rather specific search. It would be hard to just stumble in. So, if you feel comfortable, feel free to tell us about it. Between the members, we've seen enough to believe some pretty impossible things.]

[Sure.] Yang typed, agonizingly slow with just her left hand.

VAV

"English"

1: Bairns: a British term for young child.

2: Nguni: an African martial arts, local to Southern Africa (however similar styles can be found throughout the continent), traditionally practiced with two long sticks. One held to represent a sword, and the other held in the middle with a padded hand to represent a traditional shield. Nelson Mandela practiced it as a child. This is included in large part because I apologize for not incorporating more martial arts outside of Asia and Europe. An issue I can't get around mostly because I don't know half as much about them. (There's a recursive issue here, less is known about African, South American, 'obscure' or 'foreign' marital arts, so less is written, so less can be known to write about. Sorry I can't break the trend.)

VAV

I suck at date scenes. Seriously. And yet, every single one of my major fanfics have a date chapter included in the outlining phase, which would be disturbing if I didn't already know I'm insane. I also am poor at complimenting people or flirting for that matter, which makes Coco even harder to write for.

But the absolute strangest thing about writing this entire chapter, was that Yang was never outlined as a POV character. Yeah. If this story ends up a chapter longer, I'm blaming it on her. Even if it is better since I actually have a first person perspective of her character arc than just 3rd person forum stuff that wasn't working properly anyways.

And contrary to what it looks, the plot is advancing in chapter 6, mostly in terms of character development but it's definitely there.


	7. Chapter 7

\- -7- - -

December

VAV

Romania

V

"You know, it's a crying shame really." Arslan said

"Well if you're going to whine about it, I'm sure we can turn up the heat in here. Thermometer must be here somewhere."

"I live in the mountains three months of the year, don't worry about me. Though I don't know if you can handle having a climate that's not eternally wet. Look, even the floor is dry."

Fox didn't rise to the bait either, his tone just as lighthearted as Arslan's. "I know, now groundwork will be so much easier. I might have to keep things standing just so I don't get bored after all my submissions."

"I wouldn't worry about boredom. I'm the one who's going to be disappointed anyways, no way for me to put this down on my record."

"Why do you want to drag it down like that?" Fox paused his stretching to toss over to Arslan her absent headgear. "And put on the gear at least before you say that."

Arslan's voice kept that confident grin, even as he heard her working the velcro. "Scared?"

"I just don't want my insurance to go up if I have to pay for your hospital trip."

"Look at you acting all grown up." Arslan stood up, and with that Fox's senses became enflamed by the vibrations of her footfalls running through the floor mats. Rock steady and feet spread, she had a stance that was designed for sole purpose of being immovable, and one he knew she practiced more than any other person he'd ever met. This was his first time feeling it for himself, and already his mental calculations were having him double check his own safety gear.

Standing up to face her, his body was already flickering awake and into it's ready state. Not tense, just so pointedly relaxed that at any command his body would react with zero resistance or hesitation; a coiled serpent his coach had always described it. "Remember, headshots kept to a minimum, no sucker punches. One of us calls stop, we stop. Three minutes rounds, and we'll see if we want to keep going after 10."

"Got it. Any seconds thoughts then?"

"I'll be fine." Fox said.

"Then lets do this." Arslan responded, but without any bravado. The lighthearted tones replaced by a calm that came from years of training, mental and physical, so they could stay relaxed and focused on the spar ahead. Both fighters falling naturally into stances that became routine from daily repetitions, so that they could cautiously advance towards the center of the room. Lifting the toes of their front foot to step forward so that the rear could follow in sync. Opening and closing the stance, without ever breaking it or the stability it provided.

Already though Fox could feel the differences in their training and preferences. Arslan kept her weight centered and more balanced, whereas Fox had always trained to keep the weight slightly forward so he could better lean into his strikes. He also kept his shoulders squared up and both feet pointing forward for greater versatility, while she clearly preferred a more bladed stance. Her body angled against his and the rear foot pointing to the side, which usually meant more defensive, since only her off-side would be hit, but with her Fox gambled that it was likely in favor of a more power for her right hand's strikes.

They inched another half foot closer before anything proper happened. His only hint being the softest squeak of the mats and a slight vibration as Arslan pivoted her foot for a strike. She was still too far for any of his strong counter attacks, other than maybe a blind jab that he knew better than to rely on, meaning his options were limited. Falling back instead on instinct, Fox stepped in and swam with his elbows, keeping his arms still tight to his body, to try and deflect the strike away from whatever its target was.

A fact which saved him from a straight punch to the kidney, in favor of his gut instead. It was also the hardest gut punch he'd ever received.

Cowed by the strike, he kept his head low and only came up from the bow alongside two uppercuts. Each giving him a clearer view of how screwed he was and how far away she was as they clipped her arms while she deflected them. Put on the back foot, they also gave him the chance he need to step in and get his first grip on the rough material she called her robes.

Arslan responded immediately, clearly aware the risk she faced from that first hand, slamming an elbow down on his hand to clear it away. But this was his comfort zone and he didn't miss a beat in throwing an elbow strike and regaining his grip. There wasn't time to let her get in a strike of her own, all it would take is one of her punches to the head and he would be out entirely. Forcing Fox to drive in farther so he could get his second grip.

Wrapping both hands around her neck, he started throwing knee strikes. Slow, by his standards, and still hard enough that he knew they were payback enough when Arslan was forced to block the hits on her forearms. Still, better than knocking her out on accident. But boring, and he wasn't keen on her getting a hold of one of those knees.

Switching grips, he swam down one arm to grip a wrist and collar together. It gave her the chance to retaliate with a couple strikes from her free hand, but with his freshly numb bicep also came an interplay of pushing and pulling that was the signal for any grappler that a takedown was coming. She was fighting it in her own way, and his first push could have had more effect on a wall than on her. The only downfall being a lack of experience in grappling and the push she gave him in return quickly turned into a seoi-nage. His two grips staying tight on her robes, and continuing the momentum she provided to send her over his shoulder. Felt flailing through the air as her instincts did their best to remember how to break what promised to be painful impact on the padded floors. Anyone else and that could have been the end of the fight. Either they would be unconscious form the throw, or he would have continued down with them to the floor where could go for a pin. Instead Fox was left to hope that Arslan wouldn't realize just how damaging that push had been, even with most of the first having been redirected into her own downfall.

If nothing else, she was able to recover quickly, getting up from the ground with eyes never leaving her opponent as she took a few steps back. His own breath finally returned, Fox shook out his arms and faced her once more. "Guess that was round one. Need water?"

"Yeah right."

"Well then, ready?"

"Go."

V

The rounds quickly developed their own pattern. If Arslan attacked first, Fox would eat the first hit and respond with strikes that minimized distance as much as possible. If Fox attacked first, Arslan proved more capable of deflecting but left herself open to grappling in the process. And as long as Fox could keep the fighting at close range he minimized Arslan's superior strength and let his experience win out.

It was definitely a painful lesson. One that left him on the ground with his back to the wall, dripping in sweat so thick that even he doubted he could have gotten a grip if he wanted to. Arslan was next to him, sprawled out with her head a foot away from him. A fact he knew less from her tremors, and more from the exhausted heaving she hadn't quite been able to stop. Her training had focused on endurance from the beginning, learning how to stand even when her legs had stopped working. His only advantage was that he had the experience to minimize his own energy, and a few years of maturity to reach for his physical prime. Together, those facts had given him the slightest of edge in terms of his dignity right this second.1

"You alive?" Fox asked

"Gahhhh…" Arslan's tongue just managing to stay in her mouth.

"What?"

"I just realized I still have a tournament to fight."

He didn't bother to keep himself from laughing at that. Or at least it would be a laugh if he could actually get enough air into his black and blue chest. "Yeah, that's gonna suck."

"Why did you convince me to do this again?"

"Because you need the experience and your parents would kill me if you got it the way I did."

"I do plenty of sparring."

"During the summer, but during the school year your back home and most of your training is just katas. Your sloppy after you get hit, you let me lead to much when it comes to timing, and your reaction time needs work. All stuff that you're not going to improve on without experience."

"Yeah, but why did you have to convince me to do the tournament today?"

"Why, tired?"

"Yes, God, yes."

"Oh good. We burned out your fast-twitch muscles. I wasn't sure how true it would actually be, but most of your training is for slow-twitch endurance muscles. Like the kind you use for chewing, or most people would for walking."

"Really? That's not even a wheelchair joke. Plus, I don't believe for a second that's your only reason."

"Hell, it's not even my first reason. I just needed an excuse so that we could actually meet up. Given my boss subsidizes my showcase matches and competitions for PR sake, this was the only way I could come up with."

"I suppose that's reason enough." Arslan went silent, fumbling with what little energy she had for her water. Batting it over to her, she did her best to drink despite her laid out position on the ground. After half of it spilled out on the ground in the process, she figured the job done and went back to silently staring at the room's mirrored walls. "Hey Fox?"

"Yeah?"

"Why are we doing this?"

"And you wondered why I said you should watch Red vs Blue."

"Well, yeah, but I mean seriously. We just spent an hour beating each other up, and it's not like any of this going to get famous or rich off it. No way anyone is going to let the 'blind bandit' or some girl in a wheelchair fight pro. Half the people we meet don't take us seriously as it is. It's just a hobby."

"You've been talking with Coco too much."

"I started waking up earlier for workouts."

Fox took a second, absentmindedly noticing that not all the stuff streaming on his face was sweat. Arslan's elbow strike had apparently cut his face when it hit. Probably a bad sign that he was so used to being hit, he wasn't even sure where on his face and he was used to tasting his own blood. "Me too."

"What?"

"I've hit a plateau. I don't know what's next. And I know for you this a hobby, but this is my job. Not one that pays well, can't even pay for my own vacation to visit a friend. And hell, freaking gold medal in the Paralympics. Not much else I can go outside there. I tried wrestling, but too many years with jiu-jitsu makes it almost impossible to understand that whole back to the mat thing. So that's it. No idea what's next, because no matter what it becomes a matter of persuading other people to let me try and I don't know how. So I wake up a little earlier, train a little harder, take the train to Romania just so I can get punched by my best friend because she's one of the best fighters I've ever met."

"Thanks. You know your face is bleeding right?"

"I've had worse."

"Fine, your face. What do you want to do then?"

"You first."

"I want to go win a tournament, break that plateau, prove I'm not the sick kid who can't even leave a chair without a fear for my own safety. Then I want to ask out Reese, hang out with Bolin and Nadir. Maybe go for Shawarma later."

"What about after?"

"Wake up at some ungodly hour, chat with my friends and train. You?"

"I think I'm going to go do the impossible."

"Like what?"

"No fucking clue."

V

Leaving their little corner of the gym and making their way back towards the main event, Fox wasn't even going to lie. They looked like hell. He had convinced Arslan to stay in her wheelchair and rest properly since she only had less than an hour before her next bout, but she was covered in sweat and bruises to the point that she already looked like she had lost before going in. He wasn't much better, leaning heavily on her chair as he pushed it, with a face that was covered in blood that he already could feel the rapid-fire vibrations of someone sprinting to get him a first aid kit. Too tired to yell out to them it was just a cut eyebrow, bleeding plenty but nothing to worry about other than another scar.

"Fox, you look like crap."

"And you smell worse. Who's that walking towards us?"

Arslan shifted in her chair, before calling out. "Nadir, Bolin! What are you guys doing here?"

"Your parents paid for some train tickets so we could come and watch you compete since they couldn't make it. But apparently we already missed everything."

"I thought they said Women's competition would be in the auditorium on the East Wing? How'd we miss it, we just came from there looking for you?"

"What, this? No, this was just warm up. Meet my trainer slash pen pal I've been telling you about, Fox. Fox, this is Nadir and Bolin. Friends from school." She said.

"Hey guys, nice to finally meet you." Fox holding out his hand for the two guys in turn, and chuckling a little at how tense they were around him. He wouldn't be surprised if Arslan never mentioned his eyes, and between them and the blood he probably looked intimidating. "Who's your friend back there?"

"What do you mean…" Arslan's voice trailing off as someone walked out from behind Nadir and Bolin.

"Hey, hope you don't mind but I tagged along with these two when I heard you would be competing today."

Fox didn't have to be a genius to realize who hit was. The wheelchair he was leaning heavily against was starting to shake, and Arslan had locked the wheels through the disparity in strength which now clutched her wheels in a solid death grip. "Well then. Bolln, Nadir, how about we go hit up concessions. I need food."

"You sure you don't want someone to look at your face, first…"

Fox didn't bother to hide the sigh that escaped his lips. If he didn't know already that he would need her advice in the near future with Coco, he wouldn't even bother. Grabbing the two teens by the scruff of their necks, he twisted his hold to lock them both off balance, making walking a much easier affair as he escorted them away from the two girls. "I'm thinking milkshakes. Or maybe smoothies; and while we're out I need to stop by the pet daycare." Lacking even the effort to hide his cover story. It still gave Arslan the space she needed. Worst comes to worse, he would spend a couple nights helping out some teen heartbreak. Something he had figured was inevitable either way given he now had friends to worry about.

"Hey Reese. I didn't think you would come…"

VAV

Midsomer, England

V

"Ah, Ms. Adel, please come in."

Professor Oobleck ushered her into his office, spacious for one of the history teachers and packed with books until it felt beyond just cramped. Coco was frankly surprised, and more than a little thankful that there was still room enough for two chairs and a desk. Even if the latter was hidden beneath more clutter than her and Velvet's combined. Taking the seat across from him, she took the requisite second to ensure her posture was proper before asking him. "Did you get my email with the literature reviews."

"I did indeed! Fascinating work my dear, absolutely fascinating. I can't begin to tell you how much I look forward to reading the final paper. I am however curious how you plan to structure your paper given these source. I'm finding it difficult to follow your train of thought."

Coco managed to keep a straight face in light of the professor's, infamous, way of speaking faster than could be comprehended. "Sorry?"

"Your outline, if you please."

"Of course. I'm not sure quite how my introduction will go just yet, but I know I'm going to have to explain topic, and it's complicated."

"Quite. How would you describe it then?"

"That in a few extraordinary cases, individuals have been noted to overcome physical disabilities through the use of vigorous training. Having attained a level of mastery in this training, they have also been noted to be capable of performing certain feats that should be impossible and no one knows why. But like I said, that's complicated, because even with the people I've interviewed we haven't been able to explain why or how."

"Why do you think that might be?"

"Partly? Because none of them really care. They're gym nuts, and if you ask them about their training they'll talk for hours, but the whole superpower thing doesn't really affect them that much. The forum I told you about? It was started because one guy's girlfriend wanted to prove to him he wasn't crazy and seeing things. The girl I didn't get to interview, she flat out said she never even uses it in one of the group chats. And I know for a fact the other two guys that I interviewed prefer not to as well, because they whine about how it makes training too easy. And I think it says something, that the girl who admits to using hers regularly is the youngest and frankly the most impatient"

"Then why write the paper? Just because it's interesting doesn't necessarily mean it deserves this much effort."

"Because it is important. Look, by in large in engineering, we never make anything new. That's not how you get most problems fixed. Door jams, you shave the wood a little and presto it fits. Your car is having issues, usually just means that a part is loose or broken. Find it and fix it or replace it, simple as that. Ninety percent of the time you don't design stuff from the ground up. Gears and screws haven't changed much over the years. Martial arts are a lineage to people who figured out the nuts and bolts of body mechanics, figured out the basics for stuff that we still use to this day. Want to put someone in handcuffs? You use a wrist lock that Fox swears would have been around in the iron ages. Basically every martial art works on balance, which just happens to be useful for dancing, tripping, or high ledges. Maybe you want to be a little more flexible, these were the people who learned how to stretch everything out properly because they had need. But they are also the people who will tell you how you can lift something just a little bit easier because you shifted your leg for better support, used your hips to throw a little bit more muscle into the work. These arts are basically the ninety percent of designs that we already have, and yet in the modern age their restricted to sport venues, action movies or little holes in the wall where people show up for a few years as a kid and never learn the real lessons. Not the worst of legacies, but, given all of this, I think a lot of them are starting to ask if there's something more."

Professor Oobleck leaned back in his chair, letting his eyes glaze over a little, but leaving his only response as a soft "hm."

"English"

1: The argument here is basically, that Fox is the better fighter because he has a high pain tolerance and more experience with distancing. Arslan has her form down perfectly, strength to back it up, but is more likely to startle or clench up. A more than fair weakness given the age difference, and one that could very quickly be lost.

2: Joking, nothing more here, I talked enough already without more footnotes.

VAV

It's actually kind of a shame that ABRN gets so little screen time, because I have a very clear idea of the Altan family. I figure her dad would be like my Econ Professor, the real reason she's Turkish (the name was semi-coincidental), and I wanted DBB's sequel to be about teen's trying to grow up in a part of the world that is different culturally, and one that would likely frown at the lot of them. Frowning which in turn makes for better stories.

VAV

I actually gave up on DBB a few months ago. I like the idea of superpowers coming from the willpower to overcome limitations, but the implementation was too flawed since it only showed a few very specific examples without any alternatives. I could have balanced this out if I showed more people outside my main characters, like a outlined character who would have been a deaf fencer who wouldn't go anywhere because he already thought himself the best and left it at that.

Pacing has also been an issue, most of my fan fiction that I write or read is very fluffy, so it was hard to break away from that. Which meant plot was often sidelined. Some parts were also more difficult than others, MercxNeo is harder to write than I expected, and 8 never got far off the ground because of that.

And final issue is by how preachy the entire thing comes off as. I believe in the importance of what I wanted out of this story, but there was a lot of tell and not near as much show. On the other hand, reading it again after a few months off reminds me that when all is said and done, the message wasn't wrong, only the implementation. I would love to know how I can fix this story instead of binning it, and any comments in regards to this would be greatly appreciated.


End file.
